Mirror Distortions
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?
1. Prologue

Author's Notes

This is a full blown AU, going through the entire season of Frontier with quite a bit extras, so it's going to take quite a while to write up. And I figured since I've done the outline, I might as well get a start or I'll never finish this or any other story I've got my mind on (the ideas are all sitting in a sixty-something page file).

This story is planned to be fifty chapters long, plus a prologue and epilogue, so a total of 52 chapters, but the ending might be extended once I reach that stage back in the human world and feel as though I haven't done enough, so that's not a definite outline. How do I get myself into these again?..Never mind, rhetorical question. Apparently my mind is too wild to settle down. Hate to think what's gonna happen if I ever get married.

I'm using the English Dub version of Frontier as the base reference this time, not the Japanese sub I normally use for longer fics. No particular reason, I honestly just felt like it.

For this fic, the twins are born just before and just after midnight on the first and second of April respectively. This is because the cut-off date in Japan for starting school is the first of April, which means Koichi started a year ahead of his brother and this is in the same grade as JP, while Koji, Izumi and Takuya are in the same grade.

The parents aren't divorced, so the twins live together the whole way through. But as Elizabeth and Jessica say in Sweet Valley Twins, there is a such thing as too much togetherness.

Notes on the events in this chapter are at the end. Don't scroll down and cheat, it'll spoil the prologue.

More specifically regarding the prologue as well, this takes place several years before the events of chapter 1 onwards.

I'll probably finish Butterflies' Flight before I update this again. Five chapters left on that one (4 + an epilogue).

Sorry for that monster author's note and enjoy.

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><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

Koichi was engrossed in a book, which honestly wasn't anything new. He was quite a bookworm, always buried in some sort of literature, whether that be school texts that went beyond his level of current elementary education (which was, due to a funny coincidence, a year ahead of his twin brother), or novels that were generally only checked out of the local libraries by students at least past fourth grade. He was in first, but that wasn't stopping him...except the difficulty of reaching the higher shelves with the librarian was more than happy to help out with. And when the young boy didn't have his nose in a book, he was either writing or drawing in the comfort of his dark room.

Koji was far more active, and despite not having his brother's docile personality, far more sociable, perhaps because the strong wall others, such as a certain Takuya Kanbara, tended to encounter made them push back harder, or perhaps it was because, closed off as he appeared to appear, he was actually more open than the said twin brother who tended to spend more time on his own than anyone really considered healthy. Of course, not actually knowing for sure where he was for the most part was a major contributor to that assumption, though their parents tended to be concerned as to his health and made sure to at least know his general location at all points of the day, something that bugged both twins on various occasions.

Despite the friends he hung out with (and on occasion over a story-telling session or a board game in which he lost interest half-way through), Koji also enjoyed sports, most specifically martial arts, and picking apart loopholes in various movies while working strategies in video games (he was not admitting defeat to a four year old game guru). While Koichi occasionally joined his brother on the former, weather permitting, the latter two had been ruled out since birth.

Which is why, while his brother read up in his room, Koji plugged in a new edition of Kingdom Hearts downstairs and attempted to bypass the elusive level.

Their parents were out, as they sometimes were, leaving the twins to themselves. Normally, things weren't fine, though Mr and Mrs Minamoto sometimes expected, as kids were, to find the house in shambles. But the twins had kept from destruction thus far, which both adults were relieved about.

What they hadn't expected that particular day was to find the small but cosy house falling apart...literally, and to no fault of the two children inside, firemen having just arrived and attempting to douse the flames.

The first either of the two brothers saw of the fire was the electricity suddenly knocking out Koji's game. 'What?' he asked himself blankly, before yelling for his brother. 'Koichi? Did you switch off the power?'

'How could I?' he asked after a minute, appearing in the hallway and shielding his eyes, before uncovering them when he noted the lights were also off. 'The meter box is outside.'

'Well then, how-' The younger twin stopped talking as he noted the odd scent coming from the open kitchen door. 'What in the world?'

His curiosity sprouted the interest of the older twin. After all, Koji wasn't a big fan of the kitchen in general. So what could possibly in there that-

The thought was immediately cut off as Koji attempted to shut the door...before burning his hand on the knob. 'Ouch,' he hissed, before urgency took over and he backed away.

'What is it?' Koichi asked, now starting to look a little concerned, literally feeling the fear from the other.

'The kitcken's on fire,' the other said tersely, looking at the front door, only to find the edges crumbling as fire knocked it down. In minutes, it had fallen in, showing both twins, now crowded in the hallway, that the flames had started outside.

'Back door,' Koji ordered, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve pulling his brother's to direct the boy in that direction, before letting go and hurrying away himself. 'Come on, hurry up before that gets blocked too.'

Koichi hadn't moved, already feeling lightheaded and dizzy, two of the signs of his aura stage. They could last between seconds and hours, however awareness could still be lost somewhere in between, giving into repetitive and unconscious behaviour: in his case, shivering. Koji however had forgotten his brother's photosensitive epilepsy, commonly abbreviated as PSE for simplicity's sake, and hadn't considered that a sudden fire would no doubt trigger an attack.

Hence why he hadn't noticed his brother wasn't directly behind him until he had made it outside and into the arms of his mother.

'Oh Koji,' Tomoko cried, cradling her son in his arms. 'Thank goodness you're alright, and-Oh, where's Koichi?'

Kousei from behind looked at the burning house, now the entire outer surface (perhaps so easily spread due to the rose bushes and shrubs circling the building) was aflame, and who knew how bad it was inside.

The lead fireman, noting the new arrival, came over after having finished stationing his personell. 'Is there still someone inside?' he asked, calling a paramedic (who had been just behind the fire squad) over to check the young boy.

'Yes,' the woman sobbed, still clutching her son as her husband's grip on her shoulder's tightened. 'My other son.'

Koji shook in his mother's embrace, memory finally kicking in.

'He's epileptic,' Kousei explained, face tightening. 'I'm-'

'No you're not,' the firefighter snapped, holding the father back and calling someone else over to keep the family at a safe distance. 'Leave us to do our job.'

They had to. They really had no choice.

Satisfied, the man, dressed in his protective gear, plunged to the back door, around which licks of fire-lizards were starting to lick. Looking around the burning home, he immediately noticed the child, perhaps because he was still standing, though apparently not aware of the ashes of death around him.

'Hey kid!' he shouted, carefully making his way over, avoiding the ceiling beams that had fallen around them.

The boy simply trembled, before suddenly jerking sharply and collapsing, shaking violently as something akin to a scream erupted from his throat.

The fireman would have cursed at the horrible, if the fire wasn't still burning with no signs of being quelled. The violent shaking made it almost impossible to carry him (he couldn't even stop the smoke inhalation or the fire licking his skin), but there really wasn't any choice, as the roof looked as though it would collapse at any minute; it was one of the more fragile areas of the roof's foundation.

Luckily, the tremors had stopped into complete unconsciousness by the time he got the boy onto a stretcher, the rest of the family still held far away as to not be on the way. The fire was dosed as the cause was investigated and firefighters frisked by medical personnel before given the green-light to return to base.

Another pair of paramedics leaned over the unconscious victim, assessing the slight burns, carbon inhalation and possible damage from the ill-timed seizure. Somewhere between slipping an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and strapping him onto a gurney, he came back to, blurrily looking at the masked unfamiliar faces in slight fear.

One, a female, smiled gently beneath the mask, reaching out to stroke his hear gently as tears began to form. He couldn't see the uniforms because they were leaning over him, so he had no way of knowing who they were. They were trying to reassure him though, but he hurt, and he wanted his family there, not strangers he had never met.

He had no way of knowing they were only feet away as he drifted back into unconsciousness.

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><p><span>Post Author's Notes<span>

Fire Details

Many things can cause household fires, but ones that start outside and aren't arson of any sort are generally caused by a faulty fuse box or else faulty outside wiring or overload of electricity in the said wires. That's why it's so important to have these things done correctly and have a safety switch (they cut the circuit when they sense overloads) to prevent such fires from occurring. Once a fire has started in a house, they spread surprisingly fast. Closed doors stop fires from progressing fast, and smoke rises depending on the layout of the house. Not necessarily towards the people inside. But first rule if there is smoke around you: stop, drop and roll.

Smoke inhalation from such fires can lead to death in 50-80% of cases. In other cases (apart from being absolutely fine of course), coughing, shortness of breath, hoarseness, headaches and changes in mental status (fainting, seizures, comas etc.) can occur. Permanent side effects can occur, such as a permanent change in voice or persistent scarring and shortness of breath. Hence the oxygen mask at the end.

Photosensitive Epilipsy (PSE)

A form of epilepsy where seizures is triggered by visual stimuli, in this case, a sudden change in light levels or black/white flashes. Most PSE patients generally experience an 'aura' before actually going through the motions of the seizure, which allows them to move away or warn that a seizure is about to occur. The aura stage consists of déjà vu, light headedness, dizziness, unusual and/or intense emotions and/or altered vision/hearing/other senses. Sometimes, they will lose complete awareness and fall into a simple partial seizure where they undergo repetitive movements such as blinking or shivering, before (perhaps) falling into a grand mal stage. The aura usually lasts between seconds and hours.

The severity of the seizures depends on the patient, but in this case, it's a grand mal call tonic-clonic. In this stage, following the 'aura' stage is the tonic, which is a complete loss of consciousness where the skeletal muscles suddenly tense for a few seconds (this is usually the shortest, unless the aura was extremely short) cause the body to sort of collapse on itself if standing up and fall. People can scream or moan to expel collecting air at this stage. Next is the clonic stage, where the muscles convulse, ranging from exaggerating twitching to violent shaking. They can move around, eyes can roll back and/or close, and the tongue is often bruised as the person accidently bites. Inconsistence also occurs in some cases.

Following grand mal seizure, the person normally falls into postictal sleep where the brain recovers from the seizure and associated trauma. The actual sleep can last between five to thirty minutes, sometimes longer, but other symptoms such as amnesia, nausea, drowsiness, confusion, migraines, regular headaches etc. It is also possible for the person to become sick (eg. Vomiting) following a seizure.

Sodium valproate is commonly prescribed, and there is no current 'cure' for PSE. Most tend to avoid symptoms completely, but things such as power outages, fires and the road tends to make that impossible.

People with conditions such as epilepsy carry a medical identification tag which alerts medical personnel in case of an emergency, generally in forms of bracelets, necklaces or ID cards, even if they are themselves in no condition to say so.

Whew, a lot of information there. Almost as long as the prologue itself. Either from Wikipedia, news clippings from my collection or stuff from the MS readathon in primary school (and yes, I do remember, even though that was over seven years ago). Or biology or chemistry lectures.

Don't worry. The next chapter isn't nearly as...dramatic.


	2. The Symbol Yin and Yang

Author's Notes

Okay, there's several things I have to say after reading a bunch of reviews from a few stories by other authors on this site. One, the only things I know about seizures come from the MS readathon, science classes (very limited) and secondary sources, ie. some medical books and the internet. Mostly the internet. I don't have any form of epilepsy (I do have a light sensitivity issue though, dizzy, weird tingling shooting down my body and nausea; that's it) and I don't know anyone with epilepsy or any sort of thing that causes seizures. As such, my descriptions are going to be pretty much up in the air, and a little unconscious help from a few fics I've read that have seizure scenes in them. Mystery Diagnosis by Hyperthia (a Fullmetal Alchemist fic) is the only one I can remember from the top of my head, and the only significant one. But to my knowledge, seizures are quite widespread with different people experiencing them in different ways. I think even the same people can experience them in different ways, depending on the severity of the current seizure. There's only so far objective research can take you. I do try to come up with my own depictions, but knowledge is often tied to experience, even in the world of fantasy. The psychological paradox that maintains our reliance on other forms of 'fact' which leaves nothing ultimately original. Year 11 IB psychology. Learning perspective. I still believe though that even in the cases where the knowledge is the same, just the way a person is makes them see and word things in a different way. It comes down them to how farspread and how deep into someone reads.

Another thing. I have no siblings. Everything with how the twins interact, again, out in the air. I get paranoid about plagiarism sometimes, so I just thought I'd make that clear.

Now, for more contextual information. Being AU, I've fiddled with some things. This is set several years after the prologue. Koji, Takuya and Zoe are in sixth grade. Tommy is in fourth (with Shinya if that is any important), JP, Koichi and Katsuharu are in seventh and Teppei is in fifth. I don't even know if anyone else gets mentioned, but if they do, I'll…mention them I suppose. Seventh –ninth grade is junior high, below that is elementary. So for the first time in their lives, the twins are going to two separate schools (excluding the year Koji was stuck at home)

Sorry for that monster author's note, and the delay in the chapter. This fic is so long I think the updates are honestly going to wind up rather slow. So you'll all just have to bear with me. Keep reviewing though, they put a smile on my face. See? *shows off grin*

Enjoy.

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><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

The Symbol Yin and Yang

'Aww, it's raining,' Katsuharu Kobayashi groaned, swivelling on his chair and looking outside, finally noting the slight taps on the roof and window glass and tweaking away the curtain to expose the water and flash of lightning streaking through, before leaving the sky dark once more. Thunder following, though largely dulled due to the fact that they were indoors, and the walls quite resistant to sound. They had to be; it was one of the drama rooms, left open after hours for students to use within reason. On Saturdays, they typically used it to spend some time together, working on assignments or simply passing that time, before returning home at an earlier time than the rest of the week. Of course, there were also students who left as soon as they were able, eager to begin their weekend, but the four currently indoors were not of the sort.

JP Shibayama looked up from his deck of cards in the middle of another magic trick, seeing his classmate's assertion confirmed. Raining it was, sheets of rain pelting almost gently upon the second story window, misting up the glass as the three other boys crowded around his deck turned to look as well.

'Drat,' Sho Maeda exclaimed. 'There goes our game plans. Guess I'll head home now then.'  
>'Yeah,' Nobu Watanabe agreed. 'I'll bet soccer practice got postponed, or cancelled.'<p>

His phone buzzed on cue, alerting a new message. 'Yep, postponed. Geez, Ichijoji's a hard driver. Even this weather ain't going to stop him from getting the three practices per week.'

'At least it's less than our four times track,' the dusty blonde track-star commented, grinning. 'Good thing today's not one of those four days, or we'd be running through this.'

Just like that, the magician extraordinaire in the making was forgotten.

'I forgot my umbrella,' Sho sheepishly noted, pushing his chair carefully in line with the desk. The janitor wouldn't be too thrilled with more chairs to straighten out.

'Come,' Nobu gestured at the aspiring soccer player. 'Let's walk home together. I've got a new game I want to show you.'

The black haired male readily agreed, as unnoticed to them, JP slipped his cards into an overall pocket. 'Hey-'

They were out the door before he could finish his sentence.

Katsuharu took out his own umbrella, and left with a quick 'bye', spying a shorter, smaller brunette waiting for him in the hallway. 'You know,' he commented, sounding annoyed but graciously so. 'You don't have to follow me everywhere.'

The other grinned impishly at him. 'Like there's anything to do in this dragging weather.'

'Too true.' The umbrella expanded under his hold, joining the other one already sheltering the smaller brunette's head. 'Let's go Teppei.'

Teppei followed. So did JP, who realised he didn't have his umbrella either, and the rain wasn't about to let up anytime soon, meaning he'd be drenched by the time he made it to his house.  
>'Hey guys,' he said. 'Do you mind if I walk with you?'<p>

They didn't hear him. Or perhaps they ignored him. He wasn't sure.

It didn't matter, he realised. They were going in the other direction anyway.

He stood under the overcrop for a few minutes, small droplets being the only things sufficient to trail down the cover and platter softly across his face.

Hmmph, even the rain was excluding him.

He waited for five or so minutes, before giving up on the hopes that it would let up enough for him to go home without looking like a drowned rat, watching other students exit the grounds in pairs or group, and all with at least one umbrella between them. Those who hadn't seen the news simply shared with someone who had. No-one else was standing and waiting like an idiot. Like him.

In the end, he came out from under his outcrop. Two giggling girls passed, hand in hand under a bright pink umbrella. He didn't recognise them though. It didn't really matter in any case; he trudged after them, ignoring the rest.

Halfway across the courtyard, an umbrella suddenly blocked the rain assaulting his head, causing him to turn and profusely thank the raven haired boy holding it there, before doing a bit of a double-take when realising he _did_ recognise this one; he was sure the blue eyed boy was in one of his classes. Just the one though: mathematics. That was generally a silent class, so there was almost no interaction between students, though he had heard a few rumours in a few other classes. There was one outrageous one that he was a vampire, though he had to admit, looking at his pale skin and the way that the umbrella attempted to block the light from the street lamps that had automatically switched on, the idea wasn't so farfetched.

Still, they were in the twenty-first century. No-body actually believed in vampires any more.

For a moment, they both stood dumbly under the black canopy, JP grappling for a name beyond the face and air of clouded silence, and the other silently waiting, looking up into the blackness of the hood.

'Koichi,' the brunette said triumphantly after a minute.

'Yes?' the black haired boy looked at him, eyes closing slightly as he turned away from the canvas of black.

'No.' He shook his wet locks, carefully as so not to soak the other for his kindness on saving him from a further shower. 'Your name. It's Koichi, isn't it?'

'Koichi Minamoto,' the boy affirmed, bowing as well as he could while keeping the umbrella over the two of them. 'And you are…' Apparently, he wasn't any better in the names department. That's what happened in a noiseless class.

'Junpei Shibayama. But everyone calls me JP.'

The other nodded thoughtfully. 'JP…' His brow furrowed a little, as though he was thinking, but whatever it was, he dismissed it. 'Do you live nearby?'

'Relatively.' JP pointed across the park adjacent to the school. 'Just over there.'

Koichi tilted the umbrella just enough to peek rather briefly at the sky, before lowering it to cover as much as his vision of the upper circle as he could. Odd, the elder boy mused, but he didn't comment as the other spoke again. 'I'll walk you. It doesn't look like this rain is going to let up soon.'

'Thank you,' JP said in some sort of surprise. What made this boy any different from those others, people he actually knew better and weren't walking enigmas. To be honest, there was something about people like Koichi Minamoto which scared him, the way you could never be exactly sure what they were thinking, or even, at some times, saying. 'I don't want you to be going out of your way.'

'Not at all,' the raven said quietly, setting off at a slow and carefully evened pace, the other easily falling into step beside him. 'I was heading to the library.'

'To read?' He could have hit himself after that question. Why else would someone go to that particular library? The one on the other side was better suited for academic purposes.

The other either didn't note or ignored the absurdity of the question. 'Yes,' was all he said.

Apparently, he didn't do much small talk. Great. More awkwardness.

'So…' the brunette began, before blurting out the first thing that came to mind. 'Are you a vampire?'

To his credit, the other never faltered his step. 'No,' was all he said. Not: 'that's crazy' or 'vampires don't exist'. Just a simple 'no.'

'Well…people talk,' he continued. 'Apparently, you're quite popular with some of the gossip hounds.'

'That is a rather crude way of putting it,' the slightly younger boy commented. 'Animalising human character.' He stopped as soon as he noticed the wince. 'I'm sorry, I-'

'Never mind,' JP waved away the apology. 'That's just your opinion. Nothing wrong with it.'

Something about the look he received in return told him that there _was_ something wrong with it. At least, in somebody else's eyes.

'So,' he began again, a little awkwardly. 'What started that rumour anyway? I mean, you do avoid bright sources of light. Nobu tells me you skip most of the screenings, and the teachers don't mind. And you sometimes vanish for a period, sometimes halfway through, and you never get into trouble with the teachers. Of course, the vampire idea was a little dumb, but there has to be some reasonable explanation-' He stopped the instant he realised he was blabbing, and being a little tactless to boot. Here someone was, nice enough to walk him home when he forgot his umbrella, and he was grilling them for information they might not want released to the public.

He stopped in front of his house, and the other stopped as well, the umbrella still sheltering them from the unrelenting sheets of rain. 'Curiosity killed the cat,' he said quietly, and the other was starting to wonder if that's how he always talked. The blue eyes trailed towards the door, noting the woman standing there, before nodding at the boy in farewell. 'I'll see you at school perhaps.'

'Yeah, sure.' That had gone _so_ well.

He got to the door without getting too wet, just as the lightning once again flashed across the sky, followed by a bang of thunder. He jumped at the sound, he always did, despite the fact that the flashes had been occurring quite distantly from the time he had still been upstairs in the school, perhaps earlier.

'Oh dear,' his mother trilled. 'The poor boy's getting himself wet.'

Huh?

JP turned towards the sidewalk, where the other boy was still standing. The umbrella was no longer firm in his grip, but somewhat limp, causing the rain to slide down the water proof barrier and hit the sidewalk in a distinct stream, the water no longer held back by the barrier beginning its torrent on the previously dry dark hair, pale face and the uniform that lay somewhere in between on the spectrum of visible light. For a moment, he just stood there, still, letting the water soak him through, and just as the other considered going back outside to make sure nothing was wrong, he lifted his head, letting the water wash his face with closed eyes, before stopping the onslaught with the umbrella and continuing on his way.

* * *

><p>By the time he reached the library, he was shivering, namely because the rain was <em>cold<em>, and in the undefined period of time he had stood under it before realising the umbrella had slipped from his hand, he had gotten completely soaked. As far as he could say for sure, it had all happened in a split second of sudden nausea, but he was well aware of the fact that it was impossible to be dripping under an outcrop after such an instantaneous exposure. Well that, and that annoying ringing that was still persisting in his ear, nudging along the onset of a slight headache.

Instead of heading for the dark corner of the library he preferred (after selecting a good book), he headed instead for the lounge, the one place one could eat, drink and be generally loud without fear for the librarian's anger. He, even then, only stayed long enough to swallow a small pill with a mouthful of water before returning to his usual spot.

He was rather disappointed, to be honest, and a little more annoyed. Partly relieved too, but he didn't really notice it at the time. He was disappointed because he hadn't had a seizure for a while, so far as he could recall, dutifully avoiding known triggers as well as he could, and on most days, wearing the polarised glasses that reduced the glare of both natural and artificial light. He was annoyed, because that was simply one more rock in his path, and anyone who knew was either going to overreact or it was going to reinforce that barrier just a little bit more.

Getting comfortable, a little nearer to the heater than he normally would be if only to get dry and warm, he pulled out the book he had begun the previous afternoon, and continuing from his mark. For the moment, he pushed the classmate he had met out of his mind, remembering to keep a dutiful eye on the clock so as to make it home before his parents panicked.

He supposed he couldn't blame them. Who wouldn't in their shoes. But part of him at times really hated the lack of freedom that resulted. And that same part envied his brother for what he got, and didn't care for.

It was only on the way home again, well before sunset, that he recalled the rumours the other, JP Shibayama, had alluded to. Most were exaggerations, he noted as he rethought about them. He had missed the last period once for a doctor's appointment that couldn't be rescheduled because of availability, and left in the middle of another because of a rather persistent aura, the last tonic seizure he had experienced in over a year, and he noted, not even at this junior high school, which meant he was either from, or knew, someone from the elementary school he had gone to, and his brother was going to now.

It didn't really matter he supposed. He didn't care.

* * *

><p>The lightning storm had ceased in the library. The rain too had stopped by the time he made it home.<p>

'Mum's going to hit the roof,' was the first words out of Koji's mouth when he opened the door for his slightly older twin, noting the tell-tale signs of getting soaked, even if he was mostly dry now. 'How'd you get wet anyway? Didn't you use your umbrella?'

Koichi worked off his shoes and blazer, before replying, somewhat shortly, but he always seemed to do that. Even at home, he didn't really talk all that much. 'The umbrella slipped.'

'Slipped?' the other repeated sceptically, but shrugged in a semi-uncaring manner, though his blue eyes still piercingly examined the other in a gaze torn between worry and aggravation at that worry. 'Get caught in the thunder?'

'Somewhat,' the other responded, opening up his umbrella so it could drip dry. 'I'm taking a shower.' He didn't move though.

'Go ahead.' Koji shrugged again. 'I'm going to Kendo practice now. I'll start on dinner when I get back.'

Koichi looked at him, expression unreadable. 'It's my turn tonight.'

He couldn't tell whether his brother had forgotten or simply passed that fact over with the carefully sketched blank look he received in return.

'Whatever.' He paused, and for a moment, neither twin moved. 'What?' he asked, assuming the other wanted to say something.

'Nothing.' Koichi brushed passed him and headed upstairs.

Koji followed a little behind to dig up his martial arts uniform from the things that scattered in his room throughout the week. He tended to be a little disorganised, if only in the view of anybody who came into his room. To be honest, he preferred stuff everywhere; he knew where it all was anyway. But having the room clean and empty like gave him a suffocating feeling. Even more so when the light wasn't blaring in it. Hence why his brother's room felt so uncomfortable.

It was a little annoying, to be honest. His parents, more specifically his father to be honest (the more meticulous and academically oriented guy himself), was always after him to clean his room. He got the viable impression that he also wasn't entirely trilled with his progress at school; his grades weren't bad per say, but his brother was a year ahead of him, and so the bar had already been set. At a rather high standard too; his brother had spend his childhood reading and doing puzzles (most of which functioned to "improve the mind" though he knew well enough that wasn't the reason Koichi did them) while he himself passed the time more actively. Someone may not have said it out loud, excluding a few of his teachers, but he still got that feeling they were somewhat disappointed he would rather spend more time between martial arts, more action based drama and video games (one he couldn't think how was a problem, Koichi read fantasy novels without anyone giving him that look) and music.

At least no-one had any pre-judged standards when it came to those other stuff. Which is why he would so much rather spending his time amongst all that than something academic related where there was already a record lurking in the shadows.

Sometimes, a few minutes gap seemed like years, he noted, rolling up the uniform and slipping it into a shoulder bag, before going downstairs to find a water bottle. He heard the shower turn on in another room, and found an empty water bottle in the cupboard in the kitchen, which he immediately filled.

* * *

><p><span>Post Author's Notes<span>

Name Meanings

Kobayashi - "small forest" (common Japanese surname)

Sho - "to fly, to soar"

Maeda - "in front of the rice field" (common Japanese surname)

Noru - "to extend, prolong"

Watanabe - "cross boundary" (common Japanese name)


	3. Another Trial, Another Tale

Author's Notes

I'm on holidays and writing about school. One of the weirder head cases…

Oh yeah, and just a reminder that the poll is still open. Currently this fic is stuck in a tie that it really needs to get out of.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

Another Trial, Another Tale

The rain had let up by the next morning but the weather was still quite depressing. Grey clouds mostly covered the sun in the sky; only small light rays got through to herald the morning to the citizens of Jiyugaoka and the surrounds. That left them to the mercy of more artificial artefacts, for example the shrill alarm Koji Minamoto had set on his cell phone to ensure he would wake up in plenty of time for another day at school.

Or not just another day, but Parents' Day. Again. Of course, nothing new would come of it; his parents had been visiting the school since his brother had started elementary school and no doubt it would go on until he graduated…unless senior high schools didn't bother with such nonsense. He hoped they didn't; the last thing he wanted in his rather uneventful and unenthusiastic school life was his teachers mixing up with his parents and finding some other thing he wasn't up to scratch in. He didn't particularly like parent-teacher conferences, especially when he fell short of expectations. And he always seemed so. Not that he tried otherwise. He wasn't his brother, and though his parents told him they knew that, sometimes he wondered if they still didn't expect more than he wanted to give.

Or perhaps they were right and he didn't function at his own potential. It wasn't exactly the most appealing thought in the world though, he thought a little irritably, rolling over and feeling around for his phone. A flick of the light switch and a rub of his eyes cleared his vision enough to track down the offending phone, and a hand snapped out and quickly switched it off.

Five minutes later, his father, punctual as ever, was knocking on his door. It opened immediately, and Kousei's younger son walked past with a short good morning and his school uniform slung over his shoulder.

Kousei replied and crossed the hall to knock on the other door.

That one took longer to open. And this time, it only opened with a crack. Typical morning reactions.

* * *

><p>'...integers can be thought as equally spaced points on a number line…'<p>

Koji scribbled down the diagram on the board, a number line with double arrows showing infinitum and marking numbers from negative five to its positive counterpart and passing zero in the centre. It wasn't with any particular grandeur; why bother taking a ruler and nearly ruling each increment every time one needed to use that number line? Someone was bound to complain, whether out loud or in their head, why he didn't put in more of an effort to keep his work neat, but really, what was more important? Precision? Or speed and efficiency? Not everyone could manage both, or cared to. Precision was markedly easy to copy off. Learn from other's experiences of course.

On the wall behind him, pairs of parents were lined up, looking disinterestedly at the mathematics lesson in process. Those classes were rarely hands-on, and that day was particularly boring, introducing the integers, so there wasn't really much for them to witness as the old teacher explained through the basics. Once he assigned questions though, they'd be free to wonder around, talk…and observe.

And they'd be getting their tests on measurements back somewhere in the middle.

The one thing he had to look forward to was that parent visitations were conducted with report distribution and not in the middle of the trimester during junior high school. Which meant this was the last time he had to put up with his parents' eyes boring holes into his shirt during classes.

Of course, he still had another half day left. At least it was sports after lunch. A break from the monotone.

Parents' Day was one he wished he could evaporate from the Calender. One would expect the other be Awards Night, but he got his fair share of awards in the sports department, and the occasional academic achievement. Particularly in science.

And he was proud of his brother for his achievements as well. And he knew his brother was proud of him. Sure they were a little apart, but it was a phase all siblings went through…right?

There was a time when they had been far closer. When he had tolerated the slow-paced board games and paper puzzles for his brother and when the other frequented the glazer and watched some movies with him…so long as the scenes didn't change too fast. Documentaries mostly; the scenes fluttered by too quickly in action movies. They used to mix dough together and throw in raisins and chocolate chips…and occasionally dried figs and apples, though he didn't like apples and his brother didn't like figs so they'd wind up arguing over them.

At times where his mind drifted from a teacher's boring drone back home, he found that sometimes, he missed the playful arguing for the new silence.

But they were growing up. It was to be expected, especially when neither of them were very sociable. It was hard to be, between having a reputation hanging halfway between a God-blest genius in terms of the teachers and a queer rumour-target with the students (goodness knew why Koichi didn't do anything about that second problem though he had originally pointed out that he was unlikely to be believed except by a select few) and someone stuck in that shadow and torn between reasonably good grades and a stand-offish attitude that made people reluctant to dig past the surface.

He looked up once he noticed the teacher had stopped talking, before scrawling down the page and question numbers and getting a start on them. After all, there wasn't much else to do in a classroom setting.

At least both parents were in the same place this year and staying put. For the last few years they kept alternating between the twins, and it did get rather annoying.

'So, what are you doing honey?' Tomoko asked, peering at the barely legible handwriting. 'Oh, integers. They did so love the apple question.'

He sighed internally. Koichi should count his lucky stars.

* * *

><p>Koichi was at that moment in science, where they were just finishing up with the brain and nervous system. Of course, within two years they would go through the numerous structures again, but at that moment the four lobes and the corpus callosum seemed to be the most important.<p>

'Symptoms for some forms of epilepsy can be reduced by cutting the corpus callosum,' their science teacher, Ami Chinami, explained to the mostly interested class, before zeroing in on the one student who, oddly, wasn't. 'Mr Kimura?'

His eyes flew up to meet her with a start.

'Can you repeat what I just said?' she asked, slightly disapprovingly but with a hint of concern.

Koichi flushed automatically, like anyone would when caught not paying attention, but he was sure he picked up on something at least. It was rare for him not to pay attention, but his thoughts had drifted off on a tangent after the mention of epilepsy. But then, he did have preliminary knowledge that most people lacked.

'Cutting the corpus callosum can lessen the effects of some forms of epilepsy?' he offered, biting his lip almost reflexively immediately afterwards.

Ami sighed. 'Do pay attention,' she scolded lightly, but she could say no more seeing as he was correct although not for the reasons for paying attention, before returning to the front of the room and the diagram of the human brain structure she had chalked up. 'Cutting the corpus callosum and severing the connection between the two halves of the brain means signals cannot be crossed over. Now who knows how epilepsy works?'

A handful of hands went up. Epilepsy was actually one of the more common neurological abnormalities with three percent of people in the world affected in some shape or form. Many were just febrile, vanishing once their baby forms had matured, and many more find their cases confined to a particular age period. So there had to be at least someone who either experienced or knew someone, or if someone wanted to go along the train of Chinese Whispers, somewhere along the line became aware…vaguely.

He only knew about those statistics because the Doctors had considered them in his younger years. But he was too old now; that hope had long since vanished as his last year of childhood drew to a close and made way for a new period: adolescence.

He hadn't put his hand up, avoiding the teacher's gaze. He knew without even looking that it contained a mix of concern and pity, neither of which he wanted.

Her own hazel eyes left him as she counted the number of raised hands to blank expressions. Out of the 42 students, there were five raised hands. No doubt a few more recognised the word from the warnings on some anime episodes; there was a rather notable Pokémon one she remembered, famous for the sheer number of seizures that had been caused in the first viewing, the strobe effects disturbing even the slightest of cases. For that reason they had cancelled the episode. But there were enough hands not raised to warrant an explanation.

'Epilepsy is a disorder of the nervous system where people suffer from seizures,' Ami explained, looking at the few faces that had changed from confusion to interest. Getting them to further morph into rapt attention was a lot harder, but also the most satisfactory as a teacher…barring the proof of their knowledge. 'It normally occurs when the brain or a specific area of the brain becomes hyperactive-'

There were a couple of giggles at that. No doubt someone in their class of forty-two was envisioning bouncing M&Ms or something similar. A taste of western culture coming to Japan. But while those sorts of images were amusing, there were some who took those seriously. And for a good reason too; it was a very serious matter. And she said as much.

'You know the nerves in the brain are like a web.' She received a sea of nods. 'Now imagine a whole crowd of children running like crazy in that web, crashing into each other and not listening to the parent or teacher telling them not to run.' That invited a few sheepish looks; it wasn't uncommon after all. 'Now magnify that situation.'

It was evident that it was starting to click…somewhat. But there were still blank looks to contend with.

A hand went up.

'Yes…' A brief check of face. 'Ms Momoko?'

'I don't understand how cutting the corpus callosum helps with epilepsy,' Amaya Momoko confessed, and there was a nod of agreement from her desk partner, accompanied by a few more around the room.

'Well,' Ami explained. 'Cutting the corpus callosum only works when the brain activity resulting in seizures is localised to one of the two half brains and is only used in severe cases, normally frequent grand mal. Cutting it essentially separates the two halves into two separate brains that can no longer communicate with each other. So that means the messed up signals the hyperactive portion is releasing can't reach the other hemisphere nor the half of the body it controls, so that lessens the impact of a seizure.'

Sho's hand went up, as did quite a few others, but the teacher called on him. 'Yes Mr Maeda?'

'What's grand mal?' he asked, over the brief bout of sheepishness that came with not knowing something, for the simple reason that the majority of the class appeared at a loss.

Ami sighed. 'This is a class on the structure of the brain and nervous system, not-'

She was cut off by the rippling sea of pleading looks.

The science teacher sighed again. 'I'm not the authoritive figure for this subject,' she warned. 'Seizures are classified by severity. Grand mal, also known as tonic clonic, is the most severe type. The levels go from absence, also known as petit mal, atonic, myoclonic, clonic, tonic, grand mal. Grand mal affects the entire brain but can originate from a localised area, which is why severing the corpus callosum is effective.'

Koichi averted his gaze slightly, notebook open and notes neatly but somewhat mechanically written under the lead diagram of the brain structure. They looked mostly the same as all his other course-work notes so it was highly unlikely someone would detect the difference.

The questions kept coming, to the point where the teacher jokingly remarked she may have to change the exam to include an essay on the topic…which finally succeeded in breaking the tangent and reverting them back to their original topic, which was starting to drip into a new one: reflexes.

At the end of the period, he quickly made his escape for lunch before his teacher could call him back.

At least none of the students would comment on his lack of contribution. Nearing the end of the first semester they were somewhat used to the defining behaviour of their peers. 'Somewhat' was a key term there.

* * *

><p>'We're leaving now sweetie,' his mother told him as he slammed his locker shut, tactfully ignoring the chaos that threatened to fall from it. She was well acquainted with his room after all. 'We can give you a ride to kendo practice.'<p>

'No thanks Mum,' Koji replied, hefting his gear on one shoulder and slinging his book bag over the other. 'I'll walk.'

'But-' she began, before being interrupted.

'I'll walk.'

'Koji,' his father began with a sort of warning tone, before sighing. 'Make sure you're home by six.'

Like he needed to be reminded, though Koichi had cram school and probably wouldn't be home until six thirty at the earliest seeing as the library was a must-stop for him.

'Oh, and do invite that boy over sometime,' his mother added.

This time, he actually did grimace. How in the world did that hyperactive infuriatingly boisterous brunette worm his way into his mother's good books. He never heard her telling Koichi the same thing.

* * *

><p>The grey clouds persisted throughout the day but they seemed to be no more likely to receive rain than they had been that morning. Unfortunately, the natural light was lacking enough for the street lamps to go on. Fortunately this time he had brought his sunglasses with him, though people tended to give him odd looks. They shielded his eyes from the glare though and that was more important, which Doctors (and his parents) had lectured him about enough times for the thoughts to barely formulate any more.<p>

The librarian nodded a hello to him as he deposited the books he had finished into the return shoot. 'We've got some new mysteries,' the old yet content Akira Hiroyuki said, hunching over the desk. 'There's a few in there I think you'll enjoy.'

Koichi smiled and thanked the old man before heading over to the specified section. True to his word, there were a few notably interesting ones and he quickly claimed them before searching for an algebra textbook with more questions than the prescribed one.

He wasn't the only one in that section either; there was a brunette a good few years older searching through the philosophy texts. Most people didn't run to the scholastic section straight after school though, and he knew that well from experience. Hence why he could always find a nice quiet and perpetually dark corner without having to worry about being interrupted.

He found one that looked promising and loaned it out on his library card, along with the mysteries he had selected except the one he was going to curl up with. People automatically assumed he went straight from school (or cram) and then continued a wave of study. He preferred to take a break and do the actual studying in his room. The library for him held a far more relaxing atmosphere, surrounded by books telling so many stories he could spend his entire life reading and never finish them all. Especially the fiction section…but then again, history had been revised enough times to semi-fictionalise it as well. And the spot he had acclaimed was facing the psychology books (a pseudo science if he ever saw one), and who knew how much truth there was to some of the hair-brained theories. He'd read a few of them; amusing at how the different perspectives contradicted each other.

He supposed it was a good thing it was early autumn. Koji was lucky his curfew wasn't nearly as strict as his own. Of course, on days like that particular one, it was a little pointless seeing as the lamps went on during the day, but otherwise he had to be home before sunset which became earlier and earlier as the days went past. Of course, it was slightly problematic that Koji was the only twin with a key. That was one parent logic that no-one understood.

After all, he was the messier one. Why should he be trusted with the house key?

Sometimes, a dark thought answered back: Maybe because he's not the defective twin…

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

Name meanings:

Ami – my people

Chinami – a thousand waves

Amaya – night rain

Momoko – peach child

Akira – bright/clear

Hiroyuki – widespread happiness

Brain and epilepsy info is from year seven or eight (forgot which) science classes and the MS readathon (again). The average class size in Japan is around 40 students per teacher according to a few sources. That's illegal in Australia though.

Sometimes being isolated as the subject of a group discussion in a class can be quite awkward to varying levels, but there are some amusing cases too. There was one time I remember in year eleven when we were learning about milk processing, and our teacher asks if anyone knows anyone who's lactose intolerant. Everyone sticks their hand up (much to her surprise) and then they all point at me. She was the strict kind of teacher who never changed her facial expression, so that was a victory on our part. But that doesn't normally happen.

By the way, the two unnamed people at the end were Takuya and Yutaka respectively. Same letters ironically.


	4. Divided by a Door

Author's Notes

Since Tomoko and Kousei are still married in this story, that's leaves Satomi out to dry in this story. So she's going to be babysitting because I love her character. And Yutaka will crop up more towards the end, 'cause I love his character as well. His my favourite, after Duskmon.

School passes relatively uneventfully today…except for the bit I mention. Reason is because I don't want to spend the entire chapter talking about school and then missing the point of it.

Hey, I just realised. Every chapter so far has enclosed a single day, as in not going on to a new day. That'll change from next chapter though.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

Divided by a Door

Kousei knocked softly yet firmly on the door, waiting for it to crack open. When his knuckles were sore and the door still remained shut in his face, he turned the knob, hoping it wasn't one of the days his elder son had either forgotten the rule or deliberately disobeyed them (it was very difficult to distinguish between them), in which case he would keep hammering way until either the lock broke or his son finally unlocked the door. Normally, it was the second event.

Luckily though, the door was unlocked, and Kousei cracked it open, pushing it further when there was no answering noise.

'Koichi? It's time for school.'

He crouched slightly over the bed, shaking the sleeping form. This time he groaned a little in protest, shifting slightly.

'You feeling okay?'

He shifted a little, before groaning again and forcing his eyes open. 'Dad?'

'You didn't answer when I knocked on the door,' the older man replied, detangling the blankets. Koichi blinked blurrily up at his father, breathing in the humid air. The curtains, blue on the outside and red beneath to block out most of the sun, hung heavy, barely rippling as they cloaked the closed window. Indeed they did their job of blocking out the light, but it also made the room a little stifling and its air a little heavy. There was a vent, but it didn't do much about cooling the room, so it did resemble a tropical rainforest in its humidity in the mornings, except when it was winter and that cursed sun snored away on the other side of the world. All that went towards explaining the light layer of sweat on the damp brow.

Koichi blinked tiredly again as his room came into focus with agonising slowness. The grey blankets were bunched at the foot of his bed; his father had disentangled him from them, and his head was sunken into the black-clad pillow…or he assumed it was, seeing as the back of his head was against something soft and his hair felt like it was squashed flat.

The only window in the room was opposite bed, curtains closed firmly to cover it. The desk was on the far wall, opposite the door and the built-in wardrobe, and beside the desk was a set of drawers and nailed to the wall, a bookcase with his school books and a few of his favourites. His parents didn't allow more books in his room, the rest were in what was supposed to be their "playroom"…and what probably would have been if they were four instead of twelve. Instead, it was doubling up as a miniature library and quiet room. There was a computer there too, the only one fitted with the anti-glare device, but it was generally used in great reluctance by either twin, unless the younger removed the anti-glare apparatus.

Kousei meanwhile was getting worried at the lack of response. 'I'll get some aspirin-'

'No,' Koichi interrupted with a bit of a grimace, attempting to roll out of bed. His father caught him however, forcing him back onto the pillow. 'I'm fine, I just-'

Kousei, well practiced with both his sons, ignored the tired and vague words and instead brushed the sticky bangs aside. 'You're warmer than usual,' he said slowly. 'Are you feeling nauseous or anything?'

'No,' the other replied.

'Well, I guess that's to be expected. You just woke up.' He let go of the older twin, thinking. The bloodshot blue eyes stared back at him, their owner caught between wanting to get out of bed and staying in it. 'You can't go to school. If you're normal in the afternoon, you can go to cram school, but if you're not, you stay put.'

Unfortunately, it was the truth. The last time he had tried going to school while running a low-grade fever, he had collapsed on the front porch and woken up sick enough to miss school for the next week. And then his parents had kept him home for a few extra days to be sure there wasn't a repeat performance, which had resulted in him spending the remainder of that week trying to get back up to speed. As the youngest student in the year, other students weren't exactly obliged to help him either…not that he had asked. But his relationship with them seemed far too cordial to expect such a favour to be done for him.

He noted the word "normal" with a coppery taste in his mouth. Normal would be to not even have to stay home because of a simple developing fever. Normal children would be forced by their parents to go to school, whether they wanted to stay home or not.

'Tomoko and I are both working…' There was a slight tone of regret in that statement, along with something else. 'I'll call Satomi. You go back to sleep for now; you can get something to eat about ten.'

There never was any point in arguing. Though, once he thought about it, he realised he hadn't argued all that much in any case. It was his health after all, and that was more important than anything else he felt.

Even so, he watched his father leave with a small sense of bitterness, just enough to keep it out of his expression should the older man turn…or should Koji walk past his currently open door.

Neither of those things happened, and the door, painted grey but a few shades darker than the rest of the room, swung shut with a soft click.

* * *

><p>Koji poked and prodded at his breakfast: steamed rise, miso soup, broiled salted salmon and mango pickles, and the customary glass of milk. He was alone at the table; the sound of the shower told him his mother was busy getting ready, and his father was making himself a cup of coffee while talking to someone on the phone. His brother's place, the one opposite him, was empty, and the food was getting cold.<p>

That was until Kousei got off the phone and popped the three dishes, one notably smaller than the other two, chopsticks and glass onto a tray, before relocating the loaded tray to the oven.

'Don't bother waiting for your brother,' the older man said at large, feeling about for his newspaper as he took a sip of coffee, blowing gently into the water when he finds it a tad too hot. 'He won't be going to school today.'

Koji grunted a non-committed response, scooping a little rice and fish up from the largest dish and shovelling it into his mouth. There was plenty of time to get to school; there always was. It seemed everyone in the house was an early riser, though perhaps it had more to do with his parents waking for work than anything else. It was a little difficult to get into the habit of sleeping in when a parent knocked on the bedroom door at seven in the morning, but it staved the habit of laziness amongst all else, and he didn't particularly mind getting up early. By the time he reached homeroom, his mind was ready for a new day.

Except when something ruined his mood.

It was Wednesday, and the day started off with sports and ended with sports. Funnily enough, it was his favourite day of the week, with a three period PE session to enjoy (unless they were on teamwork, but even that was tolerable) followed by art (computers, just his luck) and then the two variants of science: general and health. The last one wasn't particularly interesting, but it was easy, and no-one got graded for it. And that was all followed up by an hour of kendo after a bit of a stop back home. The break was because a lot of the students who attended the dojo also went to cram. Karate was the opposite.

Normally the twins left together, but as their schools were now in opposite directions it was only the act of walking out the door that was done in the same relative time proximity. In any case, Koichi fell sick a lot more often than the younger twin, and especially since his parents kept him home at the slightest increase in temperature while not showing the same favouritism for their other son (seeing as Koji would probably walk straight out the door ignoring them, it mattered not), he missed a lot more school. Unfortunately teachers still saw it fit to remind his parents of the fact that the elder twin was the higher achiever, and the one forced to lag a year behind simply because he was born a few minutes later found himself time and time again wishing there existed subject choices in elementary school so he could pick the ones his brother didn't do and thus not be compared to his near perfect record.

So it was with absolutely no regret that he picked up his bookbag and sport uniform and left. By that time Satomi had come; a friend of his father that had worked a period at his law firm before returning to her studies, and he left her with a curt goodbye.

He hardly knew the woman after all. He wasn't the one who normally got stuck with her; on the few occasions he did, he'd either practice his moves outside or keep to the computer or the television. Anything to have to avoid just another person who spent enough time with his brother to know how "brilliant" he was.

* * *

><p>The only thing he disliked about sport was the fact that, a majority of the time, it required teamwork. Perhaps it was a psychological block of some sort, but the idea of working with someone else never really attached to him. He preferred to do things alone. In fact, he was used to it. Others didn't understand; having a sibling exactly the same age seemed like a dream to them. But he knew, living it, that reality wasn't quite as glamorous as other's half-baked perceptions of it.<p>

Despite that, PE was probably the most enjoyable class, exercising his body as well as his brain and allowing him to put his utmost into an action that, at least within his household, was held incomparable.

Unfortunately, it was one of those days when the "teams" consisted of pairs. And just his luck (but much to the delight of his partner who finally scored his second point), he wound up with the brunette that took it upon himself to become the bane of his existence.

'Yo buddy,' he said cheerily, handing a racket over. The good part of the "pairs" was that it was tennis, so all they really had to do was hit balls at each other. Problem was, it wasn't quite so simple when someone _talked_ as much as Takuya Kanbara did.

Koji ignored him, bouncing the tennis ball on the first racket he picked up before giving it a deft whack. A sudden: "hey" told him it hit rather close to the target.

'You could have given me a bit of a warning,' Takuya yelled, more loudly than was necessary as he chased after the ball. Or perhaps he simply lacked the instinctual physics that would allow him to tune his voice to the Doppler effect.

'We're playing tennis,' the other grounded out. There wasn't any point trying to make the kid mad; he'd have to cross over self-erected lines to do it…provided those attempts would work. 'Not having a chat.'

'Okay,' the other agreed…surprisingly. Until he said his next statement anyway. 'How about I come over tonight then? We've got that science project-'

'There's no we,' Koji snapped, catching the ball back-hand and bouncing it on his racket.

'Then who?' the other asked innocently.

That caught him off guard for a moment. Truth was, since they'd gotten the assignment the day before, he hadn't thought or talked to anybody and made a pair. He didn't really care who he wound up working with; it was all the same either way.

'I don't have a partner either,' Takuya pointed out, taking the silence for the correct answer. 'And I made an impression on your mother.' He lunged for the ball the other suddenly hit at him…and missed. 'Shoot.' He went after it again. 'Better than someone else…right?' He hit the ball back as he said that, before diving for the return shot and scoring. 'Yeah baby.'

Unfortunately, he brought up quite a good point.

'Fine,' he grudgingly agreed as he nudged the ball to the other corner and the other was forced to chase it again. 'Six thirty.'

'Cool.'

Koji half-wished he hadn't agreed, namely because he had to suffer through a cheesy grin for the remaining two and a half periods…then again during the double science period that followed.

* * *

><p>His parents weren't actually home by the time he got back from Kendo, but Satomi was cooking curry on the stove when he tossed his stick and robe into its usual corner and headed upstairs for a shower. He'd called his mother to inform her he was having a guest over during the brief break, and as a consequence had been forced to listen to five minutes of the woman fawning over his first "friend".<p>

Takuya was, surprisingly, pleasant company…though Koji would be about the last person to admit it. Of course, the down-side was that he was easily distracted, causing the darker-haired boy to constantly remind him of the task at hand, but that in turn forced them to talk more than they had before…even if it was mostly the brunette doing the talking.

Both parents made it home by dinner-time and Satomi stayed too at Tomoko's insistence. For a moment the brunette wondered why there were six places set out, then gaped at Koichi when he came downstairs and joined them, looking a little paler than usual.

Takuya just stared at the older twin, then at the younger one who had started on his food. The adults were immersed in their own conversation. 'Koji, you never mentioned having a-' He stopped before he finished, figuring "clone" would be a bit insulting seeing as he was fairly sure he wasn't seeing double.

Koji refrained from scowling, knowing his parents would tell him off and his brother's eyes were boring into him. 'This is Koichi,' he explained shortly. 'My twin.'

'Oh.' He turned to the other. 'I'm Takuya.'

Seeing as they were both sitting, he only inclined his head in greeting. But Takuya wasn't about to let the conversation stop there.

'I haven't seen you around school,' he said conversationally, thinking back. Of course, now that he thought about it, because both twins had the same face, he could have confused the issue, and he hadn't shared a class with Koji until that very year. So it was possible he'd seen them both around in previous years, just not together. He wasn't all that good at remembering people, unless they got stuck in his head.

'I started junior high this year,' Koichi explained quietly, quickly dropping his gaze back to his plate.

'Oh…' Takuya was quiet for a moment. 'Hold on, how does that work?'

'Separated by a few minutes winds us up in two different years,' Koji muttered. 'Not to mention he's a genius.'

'Really?'

Two contradictory answers greeted him, informing him that the question, or rather exclamation, was rather tactless…but as his mother told him, he had little, if any, tact. So he fished around for a new topic.

'How about we play Final Fantasy? You have it?'

Koji blinked. There was a second controller, but no-one ever used it. 'Umm…yeah. Sure.'

Takuya grinned, turning to the other twin, who to his surprise was picking up his dishes.

Tomoko caught the movement. 'You haven't finished honey.'

'I'm not hungry,' the other mumbled, emptying the dishes and depositing them in the sink before hurrying upstairs again. There was the sound of a door clicking softly shut, masked amongst the clattering of dishes and utensils before the stream of conversation picked itself up again.


	5. Weekend Blues

Author's Notes

I left out Koichi's side of things this time because it plays a large role in coming chapters. That might seem contradictory, but I don't want to spoil it. Because of that though, it's a tad shorter than the others.

By the way, the twins are a little different to canon because their past is different. Koichi has no reason to "hate" his father for leaving him and his mother, and he grew up with his brother. Koji wasn't told his mother is dead, doesn't have a stepmother and don't move around that much. However, different things impinge on their relationship and cause the rift. One is what everyone expects and sees. Another is the consequences of Koichi having PSE. The third is the fact that they're in two different year levels. And obviously, they're different people. Oh, and there's the fire too. Guilt, fear, that kind of stuff. A rather traumatic experience, and it gets shoved around a lot. That's basically a summary of all the chapters so far. The next chapter we start going towards the Digital World.

Okay, this is funny. 11 reviews. 11 favourites and 11 alerts. And there's two ones in the no. of hits too. One certainly is an interesting number, for a multitude of reasons. It's the one number than can divide anything. Even zero. But this _is_ one of my most popular ongoing fics, so thank you to everyone who's contributed.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

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><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

Weekend Blues

Koji was bored. With everyone out of the house and his weekend for once _not_ shadowed with homework tasks and upcoming tests, he didn't have all that much to do. He was _not_ going to waste his precious free half day (no doubt something would crop up on Sunday) reading like his twin would have, and it was simply too cloudy to do something outside. It would be just his luck if a storm came upon him the minute he pulled out his kendo stick or clipped a leash to Hikaru barking in the backyard and led him onto the sidewalk.

That, accompanied with the fact that he hadn't told his parents he intended to go out, stopped him doing just that. The backyard was out of the question too, because if it even started to drizzle, all hell would break loose. The German Sheppard seemed to think it was a game every time he got even the slightest wet, and once he was excited, he was inconsolable.

And he'd much rather not wind up with a cold. Especially since he would not have the luxury of staying home and riding it out.

Funny how that bothered him, when he was sitting at his desk swinging his legs (simply so he had something to do) and staring with half-glazed eyes at a copy of the family portrait, with absolutely nothing better to do. It was one of those times when he could wander about absolutely anything that wasn't totally and utterly mind-numbing.

In fact, he was even considering ringing Takuya and asking him over. But several other things stopped him. One, the fact that he'd never asked someone over like that before, and definitely not for something that sounded so trivial as "relieving one's boredom". How did one go about asking someone that? What made him think the other would oblige him? And why had that thought occurred to him anyway? He'd never needed someone else around, even when he was bored out of his mind.

There was his music. Maybe he could practice on his guitar. Though he didn't have anything new to practice. Maybe he should look something new up. That might brighten up those stormy clouds peeking through his window curtains.

The chair squeaked a little in protest as he stood. Apparently his furniture was about as bored as he was. Funny how some weekends were completely flooded with things to do, and others were stark dry.

They had two computers, one in their father's study for his exclusive use, typically work-related, and the other was in the main study which was labelled for the twins' use. Truth be told, Koji used it far more often than Koichi did, the latter only touching the contraption when he had no other choice.

Koji didn't see the point in having a password when that was the case, but he logged into his own account before searching for a new music sheet. After browsing for awhile, building up a mental checklist where he rearranged and eliminated the ones he skimmed through.

Eventually, he picked one out and plugged his electric guitar into the spare outlet, before drumming a few experimental strings and then getting into the beat.

About fifteen minutes later, the first wave of thunder rocked the sky…and shot the power.

'Shoot,' he cursed, drumming a little annoyed at his guitar before sighing. There went that idea.

There was another bang of thunder, and this time he looked up and spotted the lightning in the distance a moment before.

The third bang was accompanied with the door slamming, and he jumped, before spotting the cause as Koichi ran past the open door and up the stairs. There was another door slamming: his bedroom door.

Ten minutes later, the door opened and closed again, a little quieter.

'Oh thank goodness,' he father sighed. 'His shoes are here.' He was lucky the rain wasn't loud enough to drown out the voice, even though Koji didn't clearly hear the words.

'Koichi!' Tomoko called over another clap of thunder, before sighing. 'I suppose we should just let him be.'

So his family was home.

'Koji!'

That was his father again.

'What is it?' he called back, a little grouchy, having nothing to do again as his guitar was all but useless without electricity. Hence why they called it an _electric_ guitar. Even if he wanted to use the regular sort, there was no music sheet. The computer screen had also switched off due to lack of power.

His father peeked through the door, dropping water droplets on the carpet. No doubt the other two were in the same bout, dripping wet from the water he could hear pattering on the roof in the silence.

'Lunch will be an hour,' he said, looking at the guitar. 'Have you done your homework?'

'Didn't have any,' Koji replied, leaning down to pull the plug on his guitar and tidy it up. No point keeping it plugged in. When the power turned back on, chances were the timing would not be opportune for him to continue playing. 'What's with Koichi?'

Kousei's eyes went skyward for a moment. 'Nothing,' he answered finally, and in an entire non-believable tone.

Fine, if they didn't wanted to tell him. 'Fine,' he said, a little coldly. 'Like I care.'

'Koji.' He heard his father's disapproving tone, but he didn't say anything else.

'I seriously hope this is just a phrase you're going through,' he sighed finally. Somehow he figured any lecture would go straight through one ear and out the other. 'And while you're talking that guitar of yours upstairs, do tell your brother to shower off before he gets a cold.'

* * *

><p>He did as he had been requested, though the little voice in the back of his head grumbled as to <em>why<em> he had to deliver the message in the first place. The shower was on downstairs; he could hear and distinguish the running water from the rain pattering on the roof and the rumbling thunder that decided to shout out from time to time. That meant either one of his parents were doing the sensible thing. No doubt his father; his mother was probably making lunch if they were eating in half an hour. At times like that it seemed like they didn't have enough bathrooms around. At least he hadn't been outside, and Hikaru…no-one could stop that dog when it was raining.

Regardless, Koichi had ignored his words, for he hadn't opened his door, nor had the upstairs shower gone into use. The one downstairs turned off then on a few minutes later, but the door didn't even crack open a peep.

Nor did he come down for lunch. And it was rather annoying watching his parents simply trading almost worried glances over their soup before Tomoko poured the contents of the fourth bowl into a Tupperware container and put it into the microwave.

But Koichi missed meals so often because he was recovering from an episode that it didn't bring its apparently more reasonable reaction of concern to light. It just seemed…well, annoying. It made him stand out, and he knew full well he was being petty, but it was just another thing Koichi was better than him at. Being on their parents' mind.

That also meant that their chores roster always wound up getting spoiled. Normally they alternated between the cooking and the dishes when it wasn't their mother or Satomi doing the former, and did the dishes every other day. But whenever Koichi was sick, he wouldn't be allowed to do the latter, so it normally fell to Koji to clean up and then Koichi to do a few in a row whenever he could seize the opportunity from his far more stubborn brother.

Funny how he could never get sick of washing dishes, no matter what mood he was in. When he was angry, annoyed or something similar, he'd scrub viciously at the plates, dishes and other utensils, attacking the stains and leftover scraps of food that stuck to them. When he was in a better mood, he was a little gentler on the dishes, doing the job carefully. When he was thinking about something or other, he'd use that time to continue thinking while his hands kept busy.

He did the dishes again, scrubbing a little harder than necessary but not hard enough to be satisfactory. By then, the weather had finally cleared up, and he opted for a walk.

'Be careful,' was all Tomoko said as he slipped out…with a leash on the rather accurate assumption that Hikaru would like to go with him.

* * *

><p>He came back after a few hours, having walked every inch of the district at least twice. Hikaru was now perfectly dry, if a little muddy, but he still looked rather peppy so the younger twin turned him loose in the backyard.<p>

He was a little surprised to see the "thinking seat" occupied. The sun was about to finish setting, and it was a beautiful sight to anyone who cared about natural aesthetics. But the view from their windows on the second storey were far better than sitting up on a tree gazing at the sky.

Hikaru ran over to the base of the tree and yipped happily. Whatever Koichi was thinking about must have been deep, because he was still off in his own little world and didn't hear the other.

Koji looked at one for a moment, then the other. Then he left them both and went indoors and up to his room.

For some reason though, he couldn't tell himself why, he tweaked the curtain aside. The silhouette of the tree in their backyard was visible with the last rays of light dancing off the wooden fence…as well as the figure up it. For a moment, he wondered if he looked the same, the whites of his eyes barely visible as he looked up at the sky and smelt the wind fluttering through the leaves, but then he jerked the curtains closed and sat a little heavily down on his desk chair.

He was _not_ planning on having an identity crisis any time soon.

The family portrait glared a little in the light he had switched on when walking in. There was the smiling couple, his parents, and one twin in the arms of each. Even when they both had the same hairstyles, he could easily pick out himself staring straight at the camera with a bit of a forced smile on his face, and his brother, looking far more comfortable in the arms of their mother but not looking directly forward.

Even that picture told them how different they were. But if a stranger looked at them, they would be at a loss about many things. It had been taken before the fire, when they had gotten along far better than they did now, but there was still a rift between them. Koichi's eyes had the slightly glazed look that were a tell-tale sign he was daydreaming, probably in one of his fantasy books or theorising possible endings in the latest mystery he was reading. Koji's were definitely more down to earth. Maybe they weren't thinking or contemplating about anything. More likely they were itching to _do_ something. Even as young as he was, he was also glaring slightly, as if daring the photographer or the camera to mess something up.

But apparently picture perfect wasn't always a good thing.

And even in that old photo, both of them looked a little lonely. His figure was ever so slightly strained in his father's grip, while the other's was faintly curled. Inward and outward.

Looking at that, he couldn't imagine how people mixed them up at times.


	6. Welcome to the Digital World

Author's Notes

Pout. Didn't you guys like the last chapter? Well, I guess no-one likes to be kept guessing for too long, but I surmise you'll forget about it soon (for the most part), shoving the thought to the back of your head (or figuring it out) as we watch the twins (and the rest) progress through the Digital World.

Some of you are probably saying "finally, the DW section". You'll see why I needed all the earlier chapters towards the end. And I know I said it's a DW chapter. And it is…sort of. It just depends on what part you define as a DW section I guess.

It's not 6:00, but straight after school this time. It's just a minor detail which becomes important later on.

A slightly longer chapter to make up for the short one last time. Also, I'm going to try updating once a week, on fridays, so this fic can be finished by the end of the year. On that note, I'm also reworking my original plan to lengthen chapters and reduce the no. of them. The plot changes in no way whatsoever though. It just means less updates, so less clogging up people's mail boxes.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

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><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

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><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

Welcome to the Digital World

If Kousei was surprised to find the door of his elder son's bedroom locked that Monday morning, he didn't say anything. Not even a word of retribution fell from his lips after he unlocked and opening it with the help of the master key.

If he had been panicking in the process, he didn't show that either, simply drifting closer to his son and taking a seat on the neatly made bed. If it were Koji, he'd be grumbling over how he'd have to make it again, but not Koichi.

Koichi was slumped on his desk chair, chin resting on his arms which were crossed on the mahogany wood. In his line of vision was his framed copy of their family portrait.

The entire scene was abnormal. Firstly, Koichi was typically the slower riser of the family, though he would, if he wasn't sick, be up and about by ten at the latest when left to his own devices. Normally he would be half a zombie when woken up for school, eyes almost sealed shut until he walked onto the cold-tiled floor in the bathroom without his slippers. But he wasn't even in his pyjamas; it didn't look like he had changed into them at all. Tomoko had done a laundry scoop the previous morning and there was no new pair hanging behind the door or on the chair. Nor did the bed look like it had been slept in…though that was a moot point. It was _supposed_ to look like that when re-made. The abnormality was that he normally made it _after_ freshening up (and sometimes he required an extra splash of cool water). The third abnormality was the contents of his desk…or lack thereof. The only thing that was there was the photo frame. A closer glance spelt that the rest, typically novels (his own and the libraries) and pads (either containing writing or drawings, the latter typically always scattered as a part of the table-top décor; in fact, he hadn't even known they weren't permanently stuck) had been haphazardly swept off and then quickly (and rather carelessly, all things considered) collected and shoved into a pile and left in a potential blind spot, both in the point of view of the desk and that of the bed. It was only because he was sitting at the caudal end that Kousei spotted them at all.

Of course, neither of them were thinking of library fines.

'Koichi?' he began. 'Are you okay?'

The blue eyes didn't move from their focal spot on the picture of his family.

'Sure,' he replied, rather listlessly.

It was one of those times where Kousei had absolutely no idea what to say or do. His son was hurting; he could see that as plain as day. But there seemed to be nothing either he or Tomoko could do until the shock settled a little.

He remembered his frightened, denying face, shaking his head fiercely with tears starting to stem down his cheeks…and he hardly ever cried. Moments where he felt like doing so had come all too often. Essentially, the dam had pretty much dried up.

'Everything's going to be okay,' Kousei said finally as the silence stretched. 'You'll see.'

'Sure,' Koichi said again in the same tone. It was obvious he didn't believe a world, or else didn't register them.

His father made a move to hug him, wishing the other was just a little baby whom he could rid of his troubles by sitting with him on the rocking chair, but stopped as a door bounced and feet clattered down the stairs along with a bark.

'Well,' he said, with a little forced cheeriness. 'Looks like Koji's done. Go clean up and we'll have breakfast. Tamoyaki.'

'I'm not hungry.'

'Oh…okay.' He faltered a little. 'Do you feel up to going to school today? Or would you like me to call Satomi?'

It didn't take much time or effort to decide.

'School.'

'You sure?'

'Sure.' It was the third time in about as many minutes, and his tone had not varied at all.

He continued staring at the photo. A much younger version of himself stared back at him. Even in the older photo, it was so easy to poke apart the differences in him and his identical twin. The pallor of the skin. The difference in the gazes, and even the pigments of eye and hair had already begun to differentiate by that stage.

He met his past self's eyes a moment, then flipped the frame face-down.

It didn't really matter. The further apart they went, the less people mixed them up. And soon, no-one would.

Koji would be thrilled.

* * *

><p>He walked slowly, much more slowly than he usually did. To any onlooker it looked like the boy was oozing reluctance. As if every step he took was with a forced deliverance.<p>

'Missing one more day won't kill you,' Koji snapped finally, half annoyed because of the day that _awaited_ him at the elementary school with no opportunity to escape, all dressed up with a test during the first and last periods, and his brother's unhurried pace was dragging the torture out, so to speak. He'd much rather cover the physical distance at a brisk pace and then skim through his notes in the remaining time.

But he knew his parents wouldn't be happy if he left his brother before the intersection. It was just another one of _those_ things, as if Koichi wasn't capable of walking all the way to school on his own. Unless he had a seizure in the middle of the road…which had actually happened before but never on his watch.

Koichi raised his head to look at his brother, and the other couldn't stop himself from doing a double-take. If he wasn't mistaken, his brother's eyes had gone several shades darker practically overnight. If nothing else, it was unnerving, but worse was the apparent shadow that seemed to be lurking in the depths of the deep ocean blue. He wondered if one could even call that shade blue anymore; it had more black than blue.

It suddenly struck him how far they'd drifted from each other.

_How did this happen?_

But then Koichi turned his head to the side and broke the spell. 'Go on ahead,' he said quietly, talking more to the roses blooming behind the rickety fence than to him.

Koji gave him an odd look, unable to decide whether to be worried or not.

'You okay?' he tried, a tad awkwardly. Normally, it was their parents that dealt with Koichi when he was sick. There was a sort of reluctance between both parties and for his part he couldn't see what the big deal was, seeing as he got sick what looked like about all the time. Then again, he normally wasn't around him at those times.

Now that he thought about it, when was the last time they did so something together that wasn't a meal or a chore..? Or homework related, but that rarely happened. He could mostly get through schoolwork on his own…except when it came to math. And he couldn't well sit on a C grade.

'Sure,' Koichi replied, not looking at him.

He shrugged and turned to continue walking. 'See ya.'

'Sure,' the other replied again.

That was rather out of character for him, but Koji shrugged it off. His brother was probably just in a bad mood about something, he figured.

In a way, it made him feel better. It wasn't often his "perfect" brother was in a bad mood. It also made him feel better, in a way, knowing that he was epileptic. That he was essentially sick. But the thought, whenever it occurred, always left a bitter taste in his mouth, because he knew how cruel it was.

But he wasn't perfect. He was human. And it was hard not to resent, and even to an extent be jealous of, having a brother only slightly older but being the first to take a bite of life's apples…and the hearts of people. Even their own parents, even though his heart well knew they didn't love him any less for all the difference in the way they treated them. His head didn't always listen to his heart though…or perhaps it was the other way around.

A raven squawked from the lamp post in front of the temple as he passed underneath.

The entire world seemed to be made of selfish animals, territorial and wanting more than they could have, all because they had to share the world's fruits with the rest of the inhabitants of the world. And it was an instinct they really couldn't help.

It wasn't something he liked to think about, because it always led to one of two results. Guilt or a closed loop. And no-one liked either of those two things.

He shoved it out of his mind. He had a test to complete, and why should today be any different?

* * *

><p>Koichi had left the house with plenty of time to spare but still had barely made it on time. It didn't look like the close shave had bothered or indeed fazed him at all, slipping past the teacher who was watching the gates just as the bell rang.<p>

He spent homeroom looking out the window, and the teacher had to repeat his name in a slightly annoyed turn before he answered the roll call.

'Are you okay?' Yori Izanagi checked at the end of the first period.

Koichi glanced at him, then turned his face away before nodding. The expression was unreadable, but still the teacher managed to notice how distance the boy looked as he went back inside to wait for the next teacher.

* * *

><p>'The Sakura festival is starting next week,' Sho chattered away as the group of boys played another round of cards. 'Anyone got a date?'<p>

'Sure,' Katsuharu grinned, throwing down a pair before holding the two remaining cards towards JP. 'Here. Make sure you don't swipe the joker.'

'Me? Magician extraordinaire? Pick a joker? JP asked, selecting the left card…and getting the ace of hearts.

'Hah,' Nobu laughed. 'Guess you lose.'

'I'll bet the rest of you don't have a date though,' Katsuharu said in a faux haughty tone. 'I'm going with someone from the all-girls school. You won't know her.'

'Tell us her name.' The raven rolled his eyes. 'For all we know she could be entirely non-existent.'

'Her name is Chiaki if you must know,' Katsuharu replied, about to re-deal the cards, before looking at his watch. 'Which reminds me, I need to meet up with her. See ya.'

He was gone before the remaining three could even blink.

Nobu groaned. 'Why is it that he always scores the babes?' he complained. 'Ah, who cares. Much more fun to go fishing together.' He looked over at Sho. 'Wanna come with?'

'If it's 6pm on Tuesday,' Sho replied with a sigh. 'I'm loaded every other day of the week.'

'Deal.'

'Hey, can I-'

They waved at JP, leaving the brunette as they continued chatting and making plans, not even hearing the half-formed request.

So JP made his way out of the school alone.

* * *

><p>He looked around the courtyard. Everyone was in a pair at the very least, and more than half of them in tight little knots of three or four or five. There was a soccer practice being set up, with "drill sergeant" or otherwise captain of their school soccer team, Ken Ichijoji, busy warming himself up.<p>

On the other side was the park, made for the general public but majorly occupied by school students during the time after school.

Somehow he spotted Koichi sitting alone in the shade, bent over something.

'Hey, you going to the Sakura festival with anyone?' he asked, a little loudly and with an fervidness that would have caused any normal person to jump out of their skin…especially as the shade from the tree had masked his shadow, but Koichi just looked up at him, then shrugged. He hadn't even thought of the Sakura festival, and to be perfectly honest, the thought wasn't sticking further than the cherry blossoms that fell from the tree.

He picked one up, looking at how it fell apart in his hands as if in slow motion. And he kept on looking at it until the wind picked it out of his hands and tossed the fragments amongst the rest of the debris that collected on the ground.

'Oh. Ah, okay.' What had possessed him to ask _him_ of all people anyway. The kid had a habit of sometimes impersonating a shadow, and although he was a nice kid and all, it wasn't like they really talked.

But then again, he had been the one to offer his umbrella, not the people he called his friends who had left without him.

He was starting to get extremely muddled up.

Koichi looked up at the branches suddenly, noting the sun streaming through the branches, then unconsciously drawing the blazer jacket of his uniform closer to his body to quell the shivering.

Suddenly, he wanted to go home.

'I've got to go,' he mumbled, suddenly standing and hurrying away, leaving JP blinking in his wake.

'Okay…'

But Koji had the key. And Koji would be on his way to kendo practice.

He felt irritation swirl up within him. Why didn't their parents ever think what would happen if he wanted to go home before his twin? It wasn't like he _lived_ in the library.

He really was an emotional roller coaster that day.

* * *

><p>Koji sighed, feeling the wind blow on his face for a moment before crossing the street. For some reason, he just didn't feel like kendo practice. Maybe it was the dual tests, but he was not looking forward to being in the heavy uniform, face mask and additional padding and restraining his body to fighting mode for the next hour.<p>

He boarded the tram, handing a few coins to the machine and receiving a ticket in response before leaning against the doors. He sighed again and closed his eyes as the tram groaned and started moving with a bit of a jolt.

At the next stop, his phone beeped twice.

He sighed a third time, flipped his phone out of his pocket and open to its screen in a single scoop before opening his eyes to read he messages. He opened the first, then deleted it after a quick skim.

That figured. His kendo class was cancelled because the instructor was feeling under the weather. But Instructor Hida was eight-two with a grand-son in the elementary school, so it wasn't totally unexpected. Except the old man hadn't taken a sick day in his life.

But he'd have to turn around. That was a tad annoying. At least they didn't have to lug around equipment; there was a place there they could keep their things. It had been a long time coming though. But no-one was complaining now that there were less things to carry.

All he had was the book-bag cast, apparently carelessly, at his feet.

The second message appeared once the first went into the virtual trash.

_This is a game to determine your future. Are you willing to play?_

_Yes/No_

His breath almost caught in his throat, before he scowled and searched for the sender. The message simply flashed again, refusing to budge, even as he tried to scroll down.

He heard other phones beep and a flurry of activity as others reached for their phones. Every person who was above five years age seemed to receive a message, though remarkably (if it was the same message) most of them zipped through it in a matter of seconds.

Was it some sort of a hoax? he wondered to himself, the message still flashing. The longer he looked at the blinking lights, the less it seemed so.

In the back of his mind, two thoughts occurred.

One was that he had a feeling something was going to happen…in a big way.

The other was that his brother would never be able to look at such a message.

He continued looking at the message. He saw a pair of twins chasing each other through the living room, playing a modified version of Twister on the rug, scattering board pieces as they tried to finish a game of chess and mock-wresting for the 1st-player control on the video game. But that had been before he drifted apart.

He saw his parents worrying about a low-grade fever, brushing his hair aside and washing his face with a cloth. Sitting at his bedside reading stories to him. Feeding him yummy broth. Sometimes he'd fake being sick just to taste that broth. He couldn't even remember what had changed there. Probably a mix of him wanting to be independent and his parents deciding his brother needed the extra attention.

He could go in circles and loops and dig himself into a hole he really wanted to get out of.

After a few minutes, he pressed "yes", and the message faded to be replaced by another one.

_Go to Shibuya Station. Take the elevator to the basement._

Hmmph. He should probably forget the whole thing. Chances were it was one of those stupid ads that got you running all across the city for a crummy prize.

But he couldn't help it. He was curious. And he had a feeling he would either be sucked in or vexed by the end.

Actually, he was already annoyed. He didn't particularly like guessing games.

He sighed a fourth time as the doors opened and then shut, letting in a panting Takuya Kanbara.

'Oh thank goodness,' he breathed, collapsing in front of the other door. 'Made it.'

Then he looked up into the other's crystal blue before Koji turned his head.

'Hey, are you here because of the…fine. _Don't_ talk to me.'

* * *

><p>Tomoko had gotten home a lot earlier than she had planned, and decided to put the extra time to some good use cleaning up various corners of the house.<p>

She had decided to start with Koichi's room, since it was likely to be neater than Koji's. That way she'd get both done before she decided to give up. Or she ran out of time. If she has halfway done with the younger twin's, she could just finish off, but if she took too long on it (seeing as it was known to be messier), she'd never get to Koichi's.

She was…rather shocked at the sight of the room though. She could only have been more shocked if a hurricane had hit it.

Actually, there was only a small corner where hurricane unknown had hit.

And she suddenly heard a beeping coming from that corner.

She fell to her knees, wafting through scrunched up papers torn from pads that had gone unnoticed under the actual pads and books, eventually withdrawing Koichi's cell phone. The moment she touched it though, it went dead.

'Hmm…that's strange.'

Then her eyes were drawn to the scrunched up papers, and she snatched one up before smoothing it out.

Her eyes watered. It was a picture of their family, all coloured in with oil pencils too. Or she assumed it was; about half of the picture was missing. Cutting straight through Kousei's right arm she noticed.

Eventually, she found another part. This one was torn through her left arm. But try as she might, going through pictures of buildings and places and characters from books, and a seeing few more sketches of them all too, she couldn't find the rest of the drawing.

It was easy to tell the remaining scraps didn't belong. None of them were coloured in with oil pencils. A closer look told her none of his pads were either.

The paper creased suddenly in her hands as she clutched the life-like image of herself.

Maybe it was an accident, she decided to herself. Maybe the things had fallen off the desk and he hadn't fixed them. Perhaps he hadn't noticed them. Maybe the book had torn somehow. Or maybe he'd deemed the image not good enough and was working on a new one. He did do that sometimes.

Her heart felt a little heavier though as she finished cleaning.

* * *

><p>Koichi was at his wits end by the time he caught his brother in a train in the basement. If he hadn't been moving, and at the current moment clutching a support railing with both hands, he probably would have been shaking like a leaf. As it was, he could feel the hair of his skin standing up, and everything looked strangely distorted. He'd almost tripped down the stairs, but luckily his brain was used to the altering perceptions and had found the step before his eyes dictated the muscle control.<p>

Not only that, but something was buzzing in his ears and he was torn between frightened and annoyed as all hell. Either way, he was glad he had finally caught his brother.

But as he clutched the rail and gasped for breath, still trembling Koji took a seat without even noticing him, his annoyance grew. As did something else.

'I want to go home,' he said, causing the other to twist around and give him an odd look, before Koji turned away again, too fast for the image to actually register.

And he wanted nothing more than to be away, far away, from his brother.

'So go,' he replied, rather coldly. Why did his brother feel the need to follow him all the way _here_ just to say _that_. 'I'm not stopping you.'

'I _need_ the _key_,' the other grounded back.

He had actually forgotten he had the only spare copy. He was always home first anyway, so the subject had never come up.

Koji dug around in his pockets before finding the silver key and tossing it.

'Take it.'

Koichi almost missed it, but managed to seize it with his left hand.

But as he turned to leave, the doors suddenly slammed in his face.

Startled blue eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat.

'What the-?' His words were cut off as the train suddenly lurched, before taking off. And because he wasn't sitting down, he stumbled into the opposite railings.

'Sorry,' an unfamiliar voice announced rather loudly. 'But we're on a tight schedule here, so you'll just have to sit tight.'

* * *

><p><span>Name Meanings<span>

Yori – servant to the public

Izanagi – male who invites


	7. The Fire Spirit

Author's Notes

For some reason, the fact that the twins were on the same train was surprising to people. Personally, I found it went best with the story and so went with it. Honestly never occurred to me to split them up…not in the sense of putting them on two different trains. The "slipping down the stairs" did occur to me, but I decided that considering Koichi's circumstances, very bad idea. He'd be lucky to get off with a grand mal I think and would influence his spirit's transfer and mess the process up.

Changed Angler's personality again. You might have noticed from Butterflies Flight/Achilles' Heel that I change the personality of the train depending on the circumstance. It is AU after all. In any case, Angler did seem more mature at the beginning…until he got high on Chocolate.

What signals normally do is give a general direction, then when you get closer it becomes both stronger and more specific. So if you're far from the signal, it'll basically just tell you to go in a very general direction…which may or may not be of help, depending on where you are. If a plain field, great. If a labyrinth…completely useless. See my point? Remember when Tai was looking for TK? He says: "north-north west". Not very specific.

I haven't bothered describing Takuya's spirit evolution thingy again, because we're following the twins, not the others. All you really need to know is Takuya gets his spirit in this episode. The trailmon arrived after the fractal code was restored, but I adjusted the time a little. AU, me messing with things for convenience…you know.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

The Fire Spirit

Not many things threw Koji Minamoto off guard. He saw himself as quite apathetic…though if he ever met the idiot who made up that word, he was going to have a little chat with them. If he ever looked up the etymology of the word however, he would find that it's paralleling to the word "pathetic" was intentional, as the addition of the "ic" ending onto "apathy" modelled the structure of the word "pathetic". If he looked further back, he'd come to realise that the model in fact had nothing else to do with the word, as "apathy" derived from of French and ultimately from Greek, from a word that means "freedom from suffering or want of sensation".

There was a rather sublime irony there to be realised. Was he suffering? Physically no, unless one counted the injuries he attained from his martial arts classes and the scuffles he found himself in from time to time. Mentally…that was a difficult question, but the simplest answer one could give was "yes". In that sense, simplified beyond belief, every being capable of even the most minuscule amount of free will, suffered mentally. Not to say they were psychotic or demented…but in layman's terms it could not be denied that they each suffered in their own way.

That wasn't the ironic part. The irony came from the part that addressed freedom. There he was, trying to get somewhere outside the circle that was his current life, and he'd somehow managed to drag his brother, the one largely acting as the pivotal point of that circle (though not necessarily by his own violation) along with him.

Rather reluctantly too, as Koichi was none too happy at being stuck on the train. And it had nothing to do with him lacking a ticket.

'I'm getting out at the next station,' he muttered to himself, assuming that like all other subways that departed from the lower levels, the train would only travel for a maximum of three minutes before slowing to a stop.

Sadly, that was not to be.

'Next stop,' the unknown voice, distinctly male, said. 'Forest Terminal, the Digital World.'

Koji sighed. The Digital World? Who'd ever heard of such a place? No doubt this was going to turn into a waste of time and effort.

But then again, it wasn't like he didn't have the time to waste.

'Where the hell is this train going anyway?' he asked in general, although he was addressing the conductor he couldn't see far more than his brother.

'I just said that didn't I?' the voice replied. 'The Digital World.'

The lights of the underground terminal vanished suddenly as they entered the dark tunnel, the train picking up speed.

The younger twin rolled his eyes again. Seriously, if the Conductor kept going on like that he'd start sounding like a broken record even to the most patient people.

'_Where_ exactly is the Digital World?' he asked, gritting his teeth and talking in a tone that hybridised annoyance and that which one used when talking to young children or else those with learning disabilities. He stood as he said that, making for the front of the carriage.

There was a pause, then a sound of an exhaust suddenly expelling a large amount of gas. 'You know,' the voice replied. 'I don't rightly know. We're here, my world's there, and that's about all there is too it.'

The front of the carriage suddenly jerked with a clang as the wheels readjusted themselves to the rail. It was only fast reflexes born from years of martial arts that stopped Koji from falling like his brother before him.

'Whoops.' The voice now sounded sheepish as the raven straightened himself and continued to the front of the carriage, and the doors that divided it and the one in front of them. He assumed, since the voice was coming from that general area, that the Conductor was aboard that first carriage, although he couldn't see anyone from his current position. 'Sorry 'bout that. Forget myself at times. It's hard to remember I'm dragging two carriages on my tail. Hard to find a job when half the rails have been sucked out.'

That made no sense to either of them. And when Koji reached the door and opened it, revealing the empty first compartment, he was further baffled.

'Where the hell are you?'

There was a snort. 'Kids these days. So disrespectful. I'm being nice enough to give you all a ride.'

'We didn't ask for a ride.' That was Koichi.

Another jerk of the carriage. 'Sorry kid. Can't do anything there. As I said, I've got a tight schedule to keep.'

Light blinked and faded again, almost as if they were passing from one tunnel to another.

Koji opened his mouth again, about to say something, but a whistle cut him off.

'Hang on tight.' This statement was about as loud as the first but louder than the rest. 'And no throwing up in my insides.'

Before anyone (the twins or anyone in the carriages behind them), could understand that last comment, they were plunged into total darkness. The internal lights snapped off.

And then there was the screeching of brakes.

* * *

><p>Koji awoke to light flashing. It reminded him slightly of a disco ball, flashing white light in spreading beams across the compartment, gently alternating between shadowed and bright. He found himself half-slumped over the seat he had been sitting in, one hand clutching the rail while both legs dangled on the ground and his torso somewhere in between. With a bit of a groan he pulled himself up fully (it was after all a rather uncomfortable position to be in), and looked around. The train was still moving, and somebody somewhere was whistling rather annoyingly. They were passing some sort of forest.<p>

'Almost there, almost there. We're almoooooost there. Yeah, yeah, yeah...' The whistler had started singing.

Joy, Koji thought sarcastically, finding his brother entirely on the floor (and therefore more comfortable) and no-one in the other carriages. He remembered hearing voices from the ones behind them before losing consciousness, and he couldn't help but wonder where the other passengers had gone.

Not that he cared. Really. It was just plain ol' curiosity.

'Almost there. Almost there.'

'Oh stop it,' he muttered irritably. That singing was really getting on his nerves.

Another whistle. 'Oh, sorry 'bout that. You two were being too quiet and it was getting rather boring. We're about to pull into the Flame Terminal now.'

And indeed, the forest was vanishing, being replaced by some sort of train station and other metallic structures.

The train pulled to a stop a few minutes later, and the "driver" let out a huge yawn. 'I think I'll take a nap here.'

The doors opened, and then the sound of large snoring echoed in the compartment.

Koji meant to get off, before hesitating slightly. His brother was still asleep, clutching something in his hands. The keys probably, the other assumed, putting his own hand into his pocket to feel the mobile phone…and pulling out a different sort of electronic device.

'What the heck?'

The snoring stopped. 'Oh, keep it down would'ya?' The voice grumbled. 'Come out here so I can see ya. That way maybe I can answer your questions and get some shut-eye.'

The younger twin spared his brother another glance before disembarking.

The train, rather blue and polished, snorted a little and yawned again. Literally.

'What?' it, or presumably he, asked. 'Never seen a talking train before?'

'Sure,' the other responded sarcastically. 'Thomas the Tank Engine.'

He wouldn't admit that the train _had_ caught him off guard. After all, a slip of the tongue had already revealed the plastic…thing in his hand had done so.

'Yeah?' The train looked genuinely interested. 'So they're talking trains on the other side too? That's nice.' A pause. 'Well, my name's not Thomas for sure. It's Angler at your service. No see ya later. Shoo. Shoo.' It took a deep breath and exhaled, before closing his eyes again. 'And _don't_ wake me up.'

'I thought you were operating on a tight schedule,' Koji muttered, but not loud enough for the other to hear. 'Big help anyway. A talking train. I've wandered into kinder-garden again. Joy.' That last part was unhidden sarcasm.

He more closely inspected the new device it held. It partially resembled one of those hand-held games, fitting snugly into his hand as if it had been modelled for it. The grips were dark blue while the actual plastic was a light grey that bordered on white. Indeed, most people would mistake it for being purely white. There were four buttons, three in a triangular fashion under the darker grey screen with the fourth on the side, under the forefinger if held firmly. There was some sort of output at the top, similarly to those solar-powered calculators, and the screen was surrounded by navy blue trapped within a hexagon which was only a tone, perhaps less, darker than the plastic that encased the rest of the device.

As he stared at the device, the screen lit up, revealing an odd sort of symbol. If he saw it in a page of other symbols, he probably wouldn't be able to pick it out. And in his opinion, that made it a rather mundane, if not entirely "bad", symbol. Especially since it was rather clouded by static.

He wasn't too surprised when a voice spoke however. Nor was he too surprised to find it female. It _would_ be female after all. How many _men_ led kids on random rides…and then turned around and asked for help?

That latter part occurred only after the connection dropped out.

* * *

><p>'Hey, I'd hate to wake ya, but I do need to get going…like <em>now<em>! And I _really_ need some help.'

Koichi groaned in slight protest, before forcing his eyes open. The voice sounded rather urgent. It wasn't until his other senses realigned however that he realised exactly _what_ was so urgent. He could see flashes of light, green and red, and by the looks of things, the…it looked like a station or terminal, was falling apart.

'Ah, dammit.' The train driver/conductor/whoever began to curse. 'I really need my review mirrors fixed.'

The elder twin peeked out the window as the train's head twisted around to stare at him.

'Oh good,' he said, and the other could see the mouth moving…and was reasonably sure he wasn't hallucinating after a seizure. He was moving fine after all. He did pinch himself to make sure though.

Yep, not hallucinating. Although he'd never actually tried pinching himself in the midst of a hallucination. Normally, he couldn't quite move. But hallucinating was a rather inaccurate term; normally it was blurry grey and black shapes permeated with blinks of yellow light…those made him vomit the second he regained consciousness. He did sometimes hear voices, and connect them with odd shapes.

But it was remarkably clear. And there was no headache (which suggested the aura had passed or developed into a seizure and he'd managed to sleep of the entire effect) nor nausea. But maybe that was because the air smelt so fresh.

None of that explained however why, or even _how_, the train was talking to him?

'Err…hello?' The train tried. 'Could you help me reverse?'

'Uhh…sure.'

He clambered off the carriage and onto the platform…thankfully intact. The rails however were a different story. He could see why the train (driver?) needed help. The rails had somehow melted slightly, making the surface rocky rather than smooth…which meant the wheels could only glide over so fast over certain (rather worse off) spots before running a serious risk of becoming derailed.

As to why the rails had turned like that…to be honest it looked like acid or some other corrosive material had spilt on them.

* * *

><p>Walking straight was always a good idea, especially when one didn't know where they were. There was a blinking dot on the screen, but as it brought no map along with it, it wasn't all that big of a help except to tell him to go "in this direction", ie. The direction in which the dot was at the centre of the screen. The problem was that the signal seemed far enough away for the possible "straight" directions to span about sixty degrees of his body rotation from his current position…with three different exits he could currently see.<p>

He'd stuck to the centre one. Just kept going straight. And he'd been out of the station before he noticed the rails suddenly disappearing and the train flying.

Turning back, he noticed the black hole, in which fire and black acid spewed, and in the distance, on an elevated platform next to a rail that had become dislodged and now hung over nothing, were three small and blurry figures.

For a moment, he was worried. Was his brother still on the train, or was he tethering at the edge of nothing?

But then the entire image was swallowed up as the large black hole faded, and the tracks were put right again.

He turned and kept on walking. Whichever way Koichi had gone made no difference to him. He wasn't his brother's keeper after all.

* * *

><p>'You might want to grab on,' the train said (he decided to question the logic at a later date, seeing as the platform was vanishing beneath his feet).<p>

Thankfully, Koichi took hold of the extended appendage and pulled himself on as the train began to pick up speed. They'd managed to navigate over the "gritty" areas…but a new problem was fast developing. Namely the bit of the tracks that had fallen away, leaving quite a jump.

'Hang on!' The train bellowed, accelerating rapidly into the air. The raven clung (and he wasn't ashamed to admit it was rather desperately) to the grips on the side...until there was sparks and a grating sound, and then the train was whistling merrily with its wheels under flamed ground.

He risked a peek back. The rails, and really half the station had been sucked into the black hole spitting green acid and red flame. He thought for a moment he could spot the faint outline of a canine figure clashing with one that looked almost human, but there was another flash-he blinked, shielding his eyes- and they were gone.

'That would be the fire spirit.'

'Fire?' Koichi repeated, drawing in a bit of a breath as he stared at the black hole. He knew logically he should look away…more so because of his PSE, but logic always seemed to fail in the face of other things, especially fear. And in fear one generally did _not_ take their eyes of the source while backing away.

He couldn't anyway. He was…well, captivated, though he reflexively drew himself a little closer.

The train, all things considered, sounded rather merry, still whistling between words. 'The Legendary Warriors are rising again. I never thought I'd live to see this…woah there!' The sudden exclamation came from a bridge missing a portion of its surface…and consequently its rails.

'You might want to hang oo-ooooon.' The last word was drawn out in a tone that was half sing-song and half warning as the wheels left solid ground for the second time with an acceleration speed too fast to stop.

Koichi clung to the side as the wind rushed past him, slashing at his face and his hands. In the process, he completely forgot about the flashing lights and the "fire spirit"…whatever that was.

Temporarily of course. But with the way the ride was going, he wasn't sure he'd make it to the next station.

'Heh heh, I know that feeling,' the train chuckled, as if reading his mind. 'Unfortunately, I can't let you _in_side the train without a pass, and I can't let you off in the middle of no-where, can I? Or leave you on a collapsing doorstep. So next stop, the….ah, whatever terminal's next. Breezy I think.'

All around them was cracked, infertile land with gusts of wind drifting through from time to time.

Or maybe that was the speed they were rushing past. Because the train (definitely the train talking) seemed to be in rather a hurry.


	8. The Second is their First

Author's Notes

You know, there's a school near my house that's got purple uniform. _Purple_. My old school had red/black/white scheme. The second school I went to had bottle green…which is quite common. But there were also schools in the lighter shades of green and blue, and one in yellow too. Yellow I tell you. Too bright for my eyes, don't know about anyone else. But I haven't seen crazy colours in Japanese uniforms. I don't think I've even seen green, but for some reason it seems like a sensible colour.

And we've got some twists in this chapter. I didn't go into detail about the fight with Raremon because we already know what happens. It's the before and after Koji gets his spirit that changes. The actual "getting the spirit doesn't. As for how it felt…I think that'll show up in a later chapter when it's compared to Koichi's experience. I was going to put the after in…but the end sounds so much better here.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

The Second is their First

The train finally pulled to a stop next to a bench sitting by itself on a lonely platform. 'Well, here we are,' he said, sounding windswept but rather happy as Koichi stumbled off, rather disorientated. 'And made good time too, if I do say so myself. Now…' He blinked down at the human who'd decided his legs had had enough for the time being, and had slumped to the floor. 'You okay?'

'Surprisingly, yes,' the other replied, rubbing his head absentmindedly before realising that, apart from a little cold, he actually _was_ perfectly fine. After the assertion, he blinked a few times in quick succession before staring up at the sun. He reflexively turned his eyes away a moment later, but feeling no residue of blurriness, he stared back at it.

The train stared too.

'Don't you have a sun in your world?' he asked curiously. 'It seemed like such a dark place, the ten minutes I was there. Far different to the tunnels we sleep in. Much more lively somehow. Full of…things.'

'As far as I could tell you were underground the whole time,' Koichi said slowly, thinking about the other's perception. 'We do have a sun.'

'Oh? As beautiful as this one?' The train continued gazing at the sky, for all means and purposes looking rather odd to the observer. 'I might live in dark hole, but even I'll admit it's pretty.'

Koichi regarded the flaming ball of light. To be honest, he hadn't really looked at the sun in his own world all that closely (assuming the two were separate worlds, and they certainly appeared that way, otherwise he would have lost his head by this stage), so he wasn't exactly the best person to compare the two. But he found he could look straight into the sun in this world without so much as shadows clouding his eyes. Their mother had always scolded Koji for doing that when they were young. Just as you weren't supposed to look directly into a bright flame…

It almost seemed like spite now, after all these years. It was hard to still think of that as childhood curiosity. Even if he too had looked straight into the heart of fire. But he had payed the price for it. There was no price his brother had to pay.

'I think this sun is more beautiful,' he said finally, and almost decisively.

'It's a shame it doesn't appear to be staying that way,' the train sighed, setting down again. 'But that's a story I'm afraid I haven't got time for.' He let out a huge yawn. 'Ah, let's see your D-tector.'

'My what?' Koichi blinked, before starting suddenly. 'Oh no, my bookbag-'

He suddenly blinked down at himself, realising he wasn't in his school uniform at all but rather his casual attire…which was really only different in terms of colour schemes and the fact that the jacket was short sleeved. Instead of black and white, he was in his regular autumn scheme. If someone told him he looked like a Christmas tree, he'd think quite truthfully that that particular décor was the last thing on his mind in selecting the outfit.

'Huh?'

The train chuckled. 'Don't tell me you just noticed. Since we're not in your world, things get a little…shall we say, shuffled around? After all, it's hardly practical carrying around unnecessary luggage and being dressed so properly. Seriously, who's funeral were you going to?'

'I wasn't going to a funeral,' Koichi replied, a little absentmindedly. Something about the funeral comment stuck in his head. 'It's a school uniform.'

'They should make it blue.' The train nodded. 'Like me.'

It was definitely a rather bright blue. Not blazing, but far too extravagant for something like school. Uniforms were usually either black, dark green, dark blue, maroon or a dull grey or brown. Mostly placate colours; the shades of green and blue were practically black anyway. It would not be easy on the eyes if, for example, everyone went to school in neon , if the formal constraints were loosened a little, it may be easier to tell the different schools apart.

'Oh right. How rude of me. I totally forgot the introduction.' The train made a funny sort of bow. 'Angler the Trailmon, at your service.'

'Trailmon?' the other wondered to himself.'Umm…nice to meet you. I'm-'

'A digidestined, saviour of the Digital World,' the other proclaimed over his name. 'Or you should be, seeing as you didn't wake up in time to get off at the Forest Terminal. So let's see your D-tector.'

'Umm…' Still having absolutely no idea what a D-tector was, he opened his curled fist before letting loose a small huff and burying the key deep into his jacket pocket. Digging around his other pockets, he realised he had nothing else on him.

'You don't have one?' The train was surprised. 'Perhaps there was some sort of mistake. Well, just follow the tracks and go on to the Forest Terminal. Something or other will happen there. I'd take you, but I don't think you're made for long-distance travelling like that. And you know, Pops will have my head and all that if I take a passenger further than they're supposed to go.'

Nope, definitely not hanging on for dear life again. He was surprised all his limbs were still in the right places after that break-neck pace. And he thought, probably correctly, that the only reason he'd been able to hang on in the first place was the fact that adrenaline had driven him to it. This time, he'd probably fall off before the first mile was complete.

'That, and I can't really afford to dawdle,' the train sighed. 'Apparently I've over talked again. It's always one or the other.' Angler chugged his engine, before coughing out a stream of smoke. 'Well, good luck kid.'

And then he was gone, leaving non-toxic exhaust fumes in his wake. The other was fairly sure they were non-toxic, as it wasn't irritating his eyes or his throat. Anyone could feel the irritation when the smoke was right in front of their face. Or he thought they could anyway. That was just another thing, like light, that he was particularly sensitive to.

He looked around. Apart from the bench, there wasn't much on the platform. The tracks continued deeper and deeper into the forest, forking out in the other direction towards barren and broken dessert. Just off the tracks a little way away in a slightly denser group of trees was one whose crown peeked through the canopy. Apart from that, there didn't seem to be any landmarks in sight.

He regarded the bench for a moment longer, wondering whether he should stay and rest for a while, or go on. The gentle breeze blew in his hair, much unlike the wind back home. The sun winked merrily at him, bringing not even the hint of a shiver or pain. The grey smoke lingered a moment before fading into the air, but it didn't feel nearly as heavy as the air in Tokyo. It was like being out in the country, visiting their grandmother and swinging with her on the rocking chair…but he'd never been able to swing very long, even with his sunglasses on, before dizziness overcame him.

He wasn't wearing any sunglasses now. He wondered if it was all the smoke and pollution of their world which had dirtied the sun and made it almost impossible to be looked upon. Once, people had worshipped the sun. Perhaps they had become unworthy of it.

In the end, he moved on. There was no point in staying. His thoughts would probably continue to spiral down. At least if he walked, _something_ would be busy. But the thought as to why he bothered did occur to him.

He tried to push the thought out of his mind. But the large forest and its looming trees didn't help matters at all.

The urge to return home returned tenfold, and he felt the cold key in his pocket.

It was all because of that key that he was here. And the fact that _Koji_ was the one who had it.

Something flared in his chest, before dying as he continued to trudge along. Maybe if he continued walking, he'd get home.

It was funny that just that morning, he had wanted nothing else than to be away from there. Now, he wanted nothing else but to return, and turn the key and lock himself safely in its dark confines.

For a moment, that sweet air and the shining sun had seemed like freedom. It was freedom. But now it just seemed like the fruit someone was taunting him with. The less he had, the better. Otherwise he'd want it more.

And he'd have to stomach the pain that it would inevitably bring.

* * *

><p>Angler sped along the tracks, not having to worry about passengers on board, as there were none. His seats were emptied. His heart was full of burning coal, and he had a destination to get to. Hopefully, it wouldn't be another boring run.<p>

He never noticed the little black device slipping under one of the seats in the second compartment. Not even when he suddenly pulled the brakes in front of the Forest Terminal, having intended to speed right through.

He couldn't though, because the large obstacle obscuring the path.

'Bug up Sugah,' a water nymph on the giant boulder's shoulder said brightly, although the Trailmon, now quaking, had reason to believe it wasn't a rock at all, but a digimon.'Yah goin' to give us a ride with this 'ere present for the Lord.'

Worse, one of Cherubimon's warriors.

More like all of them, he realised as he automatically reversed a little and crashed into something wooden.

'Following the path of least resistance saves you a lot of trouble,' the voice behind him said, before Angler felt his carriages disconnect.

'Hey,' he complained. 'Those cost a fortune.'

The nymph, or the warrior of water, smiled coyly at him. 'Ah'm sure Lord Cherubimon will be more than willing to compensate yah Sugar.' She leapt down from the other's shoulder and tapped the container beside them.

Behind and above, the castle of crystal smoked.

'Well, well, well…' That was a new voice, one housing a Shakespearian accent apparently. 'Tis a strange device ye carry.'

He was holding a D-tector. Black with grey grips, with its screen dead to the world.

Angler was suddenly sweating bullets.

'There must be some mistake,' he squeaked, trying to reverse…only to lose a few inches with a yowl of pain.

'Nay,' the walking mirror, or rather, the warrior of steel, replied. 'Good fortune.'

The warrior of water looked at him. 'Well?' she asked. 'Are you going to carry our cargo Sugah? Or do we have to get more…persuasive?'

The lug of earth lifted his fists threateningly.

'Carry is good,' the Trailmon squeaked, giving up. Whatever way he died, he'd rather _not_ have it pounded into little pieces and left helpless. At least if it was his father, going on about the honour of the Angler Trailmon family, right from Angler the First, his boiler would blow before he endured _too_ much pain.

'Pooh,' the nymph whined. 'No fun at all.'

* * *

><p>Koji found himself in a small patch of grassland, almost like a natural park, when the signal changed to point to his current location. For a moment, he was stumped, then annoyed. He wasn't following around little lights just to wind up at a <em>park<em> of all places.

Though it was empty, so there was that.

But still, he didn't particularly like standing around doing nothing. He turned in his spot, looking at the huddle of trees, the dip in the land, the cave that seemed to slope downwards, and the massive boiler and terminal he could still make out in the distance.

The device in his hand, the digivice…or more specifically the D-tector, continued to flash insistently.

'There's nothing here,' he snapped to it, aloud.

The device ignored him, but the cave seemed to become more prominent out of the corner of his eyes.

'Of course.' He rolled his blue orbs clockwise. 'Something would be underground. Buried treasure' he asked at large, before scoffing to himself. 'What type of crazy world is this?' He almost said dream…except it was too _clear _for a dream. The only dreams he remembered were always filled to the brim with fog and smoke. All he could understand were feelings. He couldn't smell…and he was definitely smelling the sweet air fragranced with blowing petals and fresh grass and green leaves mixed in with a complementary smoky smell. The combination almost smelt like incense…except there was something, well, different about it. Maybe because there was no headstone. They normally lit incense in honour of the dead after all.

But seriously, what sort of world required pre-teens to wonder around following some sort of treasure map? And how was that going to decide his destiny?

Still, he left his spot and entered the cave. He might as well. It wasn't like he had anywhere in particular he wanted to be.

* * *

><p>Koichi had walked for a while, but hadn't wound up particularly anywhere. There were trees once he'd walked out of sight of the terminal, and there were still trees now. Trees indistinguishable, holding no sort of stature over one another. If one of them fell, no doubt no-one else would even notice, or know which out of the hundreds more had met its end. It was almost giving him a claustrophobic feeling, the sense of depression and loss was far worse. It felt like he was walking and getting nowhere. Almost like Alice and the Queen of Hearts. Running to get nowhere. Except he was only walking. He couldn't bring himself to run in case he really wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't bear that, but at the same time he couldn't bear being still.<p>

He might have, if he had been back home. Staring listlessly at the blank surface of his desk. Thinking about some things, while simultaneously thinking about nothing. But, funnily enough to anyone looking through the looking glass, the outer world felt far more claustrophobic than the world inside his room. The only reason he hadn't stayed home when his father offered was because he hadn't wanted Satomi in his room. Unreasonable he knew; Satomi really was nice and he liked her for the most part, but that didn't change the fact that she wasn't a part of his family. No matter how nice she was, and how much time she spent with him, caring while his parents were out, working or what not.

After a little while longer, it felt like he was dragging his feet through marsh, and he realised that, despite everything, he wasn't particularly keen on reaching the Forest Terminal.

A train station in the forest. It almost seemed like a crossroad. He didn't know what the other option was; the…Trailmon as Angler called himself, hadn't given an explanation as to what a "Digidestined" or a "D-tector" were.

He was just about to re-debate giving up when something crashed into his leg.

'Huh?'

He looked down, then blinked and blinked again. There, lying sprawled in the grass beside the tracks, was a vegetative plant looking being with feet, some sort of vine or stigma, and a head with eyes and a mouth but otherwise looking like a flower.

The creature blinked at him, and it was then that Koichi realised she…or he as it could have been, was crying. But she immediately brightened and wiped her tears. 'A visitor.' Yep, definitely a female. 'Finally.'

Then she took his pant leg and led him away from the tracks.

'Please, come sit with us. It's been so long since we've had a visitor.'

She seemed so happy simply by his appearance (which probably wasn't even intentional) that it didn't occur to him to say no.

* * *

><p>Koji had manevoured around underground until he found himself apparently standing right above the signal…again.<p>

'Oh give me a break,' he scowled, looking around. 'There's no more caves around here.'

The words were barely out of his mouth when the floor a few feet away suddenly melted. A tad surprised, he looked down, seeing the labyrinth did in fact extend further down. In fact, he was more surprised at that, and the fact that there were conveniently placed metal pipes extending down, than the fact that he could spot a bunch of white blobs cornering a bunch of other kids. Well, there were some white blobs and a blob of a different colour which he would, if having to pick a single colour, describe as purple.

And as exasperating as it was watching them being chased like little Marshmellows, as the purple blob was spitting holes everywhere, he felt he really should try to help.

If he had known the result would be him falling down the rabbit hole, he wouldn't have bothered. Or he might have, once he considered the matter at a later date. After all, one could say that falling down a hole was his destiny.


	9. A Flower to Savour

Author's Notes

This was originally three separate chapters, but I put it into one. Works better like this I think, although it was far longer than I had anticipated. That's okay. More for you guys to read and less for me to upload. Works both ways.

The emphasis on the sun will become clear once everyone returns to the real world. The sun is theoretically just an image of the sun in the "real" world like everything else, but the symbolism, the reception…and the fact that the Digital World doesn't have pollution nor is the forest kingdom (or even the flame terminal) quite so industrialised as modern Japan.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

A Flower to Savour

That moment, when he was bequeathed with the spirits of light and he spirit evolved into Lobomon, was one of the strangest yet most pivotal experiences of his life. It really felt like suddenly the world had become crystal clear…for those fleeting second he fell into the tunnel and was devoured by light. That came after the fear of course, the fear of falling without end or restrained, falling into one's end.

It was almost funny how the light at the end of the tunnel didn't symbolise passing into the afterlife, but resulted in clarity and cleansing washing through his body, strengthening, lengthening his limbs and sharpening his mind, given him the ultimate focus worthy of a kendo swordsman. For that moment, nothing was unknown. Nothing important. The swords moved with ease, the carpals of his wrist easily turning without the slightest inhibition, the particles of light slicing to anything and everything…

But it was gone all too soon, and he sunk to his knees, utterly spent, D-tector tumbling out of his grip as it thirstily sucked up the opponent's fractal code. The screen flashed only one word in the process.

_Purifying._

A moment later, it flashed a different word.

_Render._

And below was a small schematic of the apparently multi-function device, pointing at the button to the right.

He pressed it, and the code surged out, repairing the landscape above them. It filled in the crevices and the massive hole he hadn't seen before, amongst other things he had simply assumed was a naturally fragmented landscape. But he had to admit that it looked rather beautiful now.

'Hey, you okay?'

Great. The only thing worse than being stuck with Koichi 24/7 was being stuck with _Takuya_ 24/7. There were two reasons for that, namely Koichi was, above all else flesh and blood, and there were times where neither one of them wanted to be in the other's company. However, the brunette seemed intent on keeping him company, almost like an overzealous puppy.

'Here, let me help you-'

'I don't need your help,' the other snapped. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say he didn't _want_ his help, although there was nothing wrong with statement superficially. His mind was still reeling from that surge of power, but it had dimmed to a slight headache. Exhaustion after a hard training session at the best. But he could feel Goosebumps on his skin…from the cold presumably. He wondered, almost marvelled, at how easy it was to cut through that purple sludge, Raremon, without another thought. How easy it was to feed its data, its very essence, through a machine and pull it out at the other end, completely mended. Why couldn't humans be so simple? So easily classified?

It was like being stuck in a video game, being the main character on some crest of chivalry, some knight in shining armour riding out to save some princess in distress, blasting every obstacle out of the way.

But it couldn't be so simple. Otherwise it would have felt like he'd suddenly found the world of answers, all crammed into his head in a single moment…only for them all to flee from his memory the next. Otherwise though…talking trains, monsters popping up, super-heroes doing the fighting and winning without a thought…heck, even the destiny part sounded like some video game he'd somehow stumbled into.

If it wasn't for the fact that it was all so _clear_, he wouldn't believe it. As it was, he wondered if the train he had boarded in Shibuya station hadn't somehow been hooked up to some sort of virtual reality system. In that case, what was it supposed to teach him? He'd learnt for years that martial arts were only to be used as a form of defence. And if one couldn't defend themselves from an out of control trash-can spewing acid all over the place and destabilising a town, not to mention trying to fry a bunch of kids roughly his own age, one of which he knew quite well (all things considered), he didn't know what was.

But that was done now, and then there were more questions than answers.

What had that woman meant anyway, that all his questions would be answered?

Back to case in point, he didn't want the help. That tied him down. He wanted to do this by himself, not dragging dead weight behind him, forcing him to deviate. There wasn't anyone else…except a bunch of lost kids in pretty much the same boat as him. He wasn't the sort of person who liked help. He preferred, when he could, to do things alone.

And it definitely wasn't some math problem he couldn't in a hundred years wrap his head around.

Although he couldn't quite leave the help hanging. Granted, the so-called "help" offered by the brunette had knocked him into the hole in the first place, but (with a grit of his teeth), no good will directed wayward after all.

'I guess I should thank you.' The words were almost forced. 'And I always repay my debts.'

It was a debt after all. Just some stupid weight to be carried along with everything else. He could take care of himself just fine after all.

He ignored the other's rebuttal and left with a small flick of dismissal with his hands…although he did think for a moment he caught a "how rude" from the female.

Social stigma. What a funny thing it was. It was only because the Japanese society put so much in stock by bows and formal customs, unlike some other countries that had long since let them go. And she didn't even look Japanese.

After all, when not in Japan, what was the difference between a bow and a wave, other than lowering you guard for the former? After all, lowering your head made you vulnerable as it did a tad more than decrease the span of the peripheral vision.

* * *

><p>The Floramon were just too kind, and he felt rather bad turning down another bowl of soup, but he really did have a small appetite. Funnily enough though, he'd somehow managed more than he had lately. Perhaps it had something to do with the meals he had skipped back home.<p>

'Aren't you hungry?' The little Floramon who'd latched onto his leg, apparently one of the children, blinked at him. 'We have plenty more.'

Koichi smiled and managed to coax the child onto his lap instead, where she sat comfortably. Actually, both of them were rather comfortable. There was something warm about the weight upon his legs.

'No, I'm full. But thank you.'

'No.' The little Floramon shook his head. 'You're still sad.'

That caught him by surprise.

'Huh?'

But the child didn't elaborate, and when he looked at the other's fussing about the tree-house, they did not do so either.

'Where are you heading?' The elder asked, changing the subject although perhaps not intentionally. In any case, there was no transparency in her tone. Not like his parents yesterday. He could hear them easily enough with the window open, until he had had enough and snapped it shut.

'To the Forest Terminal,' Koichi replied slowly, still somewhat thinking about the previous statement.

'It doesn't sound particularly important,' the elder noted.

'I guess not.' The boy sighed a little. 'I suppose I'm not really in any hurry. Part of me doesn't want to go at all.'

'That's because the forest is pretty and you don't want to leave.' That was another one of the children, dancing around.

'It's not,' the female on his lap pouted. 'The Mushroomon spoilt it all.'

'The Mushroomon?' Koichi repeated, remembering how barren the land outside had looked while noting the reprimanding glance the Elder sent towards the child. 'Are they like you?'

There were quiet murmurs, giving Koichi the distinct feeling he'd something rather stupid.

'They are Digimon certainly,' the Elder replied. 'Everyone except for you, and if there are others like you, are Digimon. We Floramon are one species of Digimon. Mushroomon are another species.'

'So Digimon is a sort of Super-Kingdom?' He thought about that. 'What about the Traimon?'

'Another species,' the Floramon said. 'There are many. Some are rare. Some one of a kind. Some extinct. Others, like us Floramon, are quite numerous.'

They were almost like humans. Scratch that, they were far more diverse than humans…and if the Floramon here were anything to judge by, more communal. Perhaps the earth had, once upon a time, been like that. But development in technology and thinning of blood had resulted in connections being largely through electronic media. Even in close relations, although the fact that they lived in the same house somewhat diminished the proportions. After all, how often did he or his brother pick up the phone to one of their parents around six or seven in the afternoon, informing them they'd be late? On a larger scale, how often was it that one of their parents would reminiscent about an old friend from high school, and then send them an email or call them up. When was the last time one of them had actually met in person? Barring coincidences of course.

'Do you know _anything_ about Digimon?' a slightly younger voice piped up, starting on the dishes. Koichi automatically rose to help, before remembering the child comfortably seated on his lap.

Koichi shook his head.

The Elder nodded. 'You haven't been in this world long, have you?'

Another head-shake.

'Well, truth be told, we're all made up of data, much like you humans are made up of…protein was it?'

'Yeah.' He paused for a minute, lowering his gaze. 'Your bodies only?'

'Why of course,' the Elder replied. 'The data came from programmes in your own world that were deleted and somehow regenerated, collected and rearranged to form this world and the beings who live on it. The souls on the other hand come from memories. Memories also inspire the form.'

'Memories,' he said slowly. 'Whose memories?'

'Humans,' the Elder replied. The other Floramon by that time had stopped what they were doing in favour of listening to the tale. 'Once the place was scarce, and there was little life. And conflict. Oh, the amount of conflict. It was mainly between the Human and Beast type digimon, but who's to say there was no internal conflict? That was long before any of us lived. Digimon were destroyed and reborn without end. It took decades before the angel Lucemon arose and quelled the fighting, and then for a time there was peace. But then he grew mad with power and control. You see, he believed Digimon to have minds too weak, from their human influence, to be able to live without harsh laws and binds to restrain them. Eventually it grew oppressive, to the point where he was a dictator controlling the world instead of ruling it. The beauty that had managed to grow again after centuries of war was destroyed as he sucked the data to make himself stronger, and the world easier to control. But eventually ten Ancient Digimon rose up and sealed him away in the Dark Area, and then went to sleep after leaving their powers behind in spirits.

'The rule was then given to three Celestial Angels: Seraphimon who resides in the Forest Terminal, Ophanimon who resides in the Continent of Light, and…' She lowered her voice so the other curious ears could not hear the rest of the tale. 'Cherubimon who resides in the Rose Morning Star.'

'He's bad,' the Floramon in Koichi's lap piped up.

'Hush,' the Elder said, but not unkindly. 'All we know is that he had a bit of a…shall we say falling out, with Seraphimon and Ophanimon. We received news just before your arrival by Baromon. He's a Prophet-type digimon,' she added, for the benefit of the human. 'He told us some disturbing things, mainly that Lucemon is reviving.'

Koichi was silent for a while, processing all of that.

'Isn't it possible?' he asked eventually. 'That Lucemon has…uhh, reformed?'

'It is hard for one who thinks they are right to change their ways,' the Elder said wisely. 'I highly doubt it. He felt no remorse at the end, and no doubt he can sense the turmoil spreading, ever since the Great Angels started disagreeing on important matters. But Baromon also told us that the castle at the Forest Terminal was attacked only a few hours ago, and Ophanimon has vanished.' She quickly added to herself: 'Of course, it is possible she is en route somewhere, but apparently she had been at the castle with Seraphimon, and all there is there now is Sorcerymon guarding a crystal enclosing Seraphimon, and a much larger force-field enveloping the castle itself. The army that came has diverted back to the Rose Morning Star.

'There is some good news though,' she continued. 'Baromon also said the spirits were awakening once more. The fire spirit specifically.'

That reminded him of Angler's comment. So the Trailmon knew about these spirits too. Perhaps it was a sort of urban legend.

'So is there another war starting?' he asked, a tad automatically. It was a sad thing, war, but there was one thing favourable about it, and that was dying without having to wait in silence, amidst cries and gunshots, where you could fall and no-one would realise until far too late to prolong your suffering…

She looked up at him. 'We have no desire to be controlled,' she said. 'The eldest of us normally leave this village and travel, but lately we've been confined because of the turmoil in other sectors. It's spreading too, radiating out. Why poor Swannmon is swamped because parents can't come by and take their children…and Elecmon too. The tracks are disappearing, and very few Trailmon still emerge from their tunnels to run the normal routes. I must say I was surprised when Angler passed by earlier, but he didn't bring any tourists, so everyone's spirits were quite low before you came along.'

She said it so sincerely that he smiled. His mind was still absorbing all the information she had given, and it had been rather effective, if unintentionally, in banishing his less welcoming thoughts from his mind.

'You look less sad,' the child on his lap piped up. 'Flora is glad.'

He didn't note till a latter day that she didn't use the word "happy" instead.

'Flora?' he repeated. 'Is that your name?'

'Yep.' She grinned at him, before her petals drooped. 'But when you leave, everyone will be sad again. Especially the garden.'

His mother used to have a garden, at their old home. It had burnt to ash in the fire, catching quickly. The roses had never stood a chance. Their new home had a much smaller yard, and she had become busier, scoring a promotion not long after the re-establishment. He wasn't sure exactly how the shift had taken place. He'd just gone to the hospital from one home and left the hospital to go to a new one.

'I…I think I'd like to see the garden…if you don't mind.'

That caused a bit of excitement. Not necessarily the good kind.

* * *

><p>He supposed hijacking the train he was currently on wasn't the exact word for it, but it was close enough. The train, or Trailmon, had been rather reluctant to let him on without a ticket, but he had flat-out refused to walk to the Forest Terminal following some stupid tracks when he had a perfectly good ticket in his own world.<p>

And seeing as, according to the pink mole, it was more trouble than it was worth trying to jump over him, and he couldn't well charge straight through, he reluctantly let the other on…with a determined mutter to let him off at the first terminal in the forest.

It was only after he'd gotten off the train and looked around that he realised that it wasn't _the_ Forest Terminal. Instead, it the terminal for some village. He couldn't see the village anywhere though.

He figured he might as well take a nap. It had been somewhat of a long day after all.

When was the stupid sun going to go down? He supposed he'd have to deal with it being in his face.

* * *

><p>'It has a lot of potential,' Koichi said quietly, surveying the dug up soil. Really, that was the only good thing that could be said…unless one stooped as low as to comment on the quality of the soil. He didn't know too much about soil quality though, so he wasn't exactly the best person to judge. But he still felt it had once been a beautiful garden, and the hard-working (and apparently proud, though not necessarily in a bad way) Floramon would one day built it up to make it worthy of a king's palace and thensome.<p>

'It was once very beautiful,' the Elder admitted. 'The Mushrommon used to do their tricks here, and we had many visitors eating our soup and watching them. But things are changing now.'

'It's sad now,' Flora piped up.

Sad was a good way of describing it, especially when a soft wing blew through, causing the dust to rise up in a spiral before settling again.

'We can only manage a little at a time,' Elder explained, gesturing at the group slowly digging through the soil. 'You see, we are too small to be able to push the wheelbarrow, or dig too deeply into the earth. If we could plant the roots deeper, then maybe the flowers would last a little longer, but they would be dull.' She fingered the nearest one. 'The sun can't reach that low. They would wither and die.'

'They would be sad then,' Flora added. Apparently, she was at the age where everything could be classified as happy or sad, good or evil.

'They would rather take the natural course and die quickly than try to preserve themselves and wait for a slow and inevitable end,' the human surmised slowly, before letting a slow smile spread upon his lips as he tilted his head up to stare at the sun again. 'I can understand that.

'Indeed.' Elder looked at him with some curiosity. 'Very few can. We had a Gigasmon once split the ground, thinking it was doing us a favour. But we don't need or want the flower's roots buried deeper, persevering far beyond their time. Everything and everyone has a time to end after all.'

* * *

><p>'I'm guessing this isn't the Forest Terminal.'<p>

It was the male voice that awoke Koji, or rather, forced him to open his eyes. He hadn't been particularly asleep by that moment, simply lazing on the seat with a sudden reluctance to get up. It was unusual, he half-interestedly noted to himself. He wasn't particularly the guy who liked lazy days.

He also, on the other hand, didn't particularly like wandering around a maze without a map, which was what he felt like he was doing.

'Obviously not,' he answered, rather annoyed as he forced his eyes open to glare a little sourly. It would be one of those rare times where such a glare actually had a recipient. Normally, the poor ceiling in his bedroom had to bear the entire brunt. 'Read the sign.'

The brunette, the idiot who had been handing out chocolate to those Pagumon, grinned sheepishly. 'Yeah, my bad.'

'Hmmph.' Koji stood, noting the girl with a sweep of his eyes, before turning and climbing across the tracks, disappearing into the trees. In a minute, not even his blue jacket could be seen.

'How rude,' the blonde commented, just loud enough for the voice to carry to him, although perhaps unintentionally.

'You know…' The other mused, _not_ loud enough as the other passed out of earshot as well. 'His face looks like Koichi. I wonder if they're related.'

'Who?'

'Just a classmate. He's kind of weird though-oww!'

'That's not nice.'

'Trust me Zee, if you ever meet him, you'll see what I mean.'

* * *

><p>Koichi and the two Floramon were still in the garden when the door opened behind them.<p>

'Oh.' Elder looked surprised, but happy. 'More visitors.'

A blonde female about his age came through the door, surveying the soil screaming for life, but it wasn't until the male behind him entered that Koichi actually turned around.

'Koichi?' JP had a rather comical look on his face.

The blonde stared between the two, before grinning and coming over, kneeling beside the boy and Flora as they tried to fix the garden frame again. It was another thing that the Floramon, being small, had difficulty doing by themselves, and apparently even the human's clueless help was enough to make a large difference as there was a shout of triumph as the last peg went in.

'Hi,' she said brightly. 'My name's Zoe Orimoto.'

'Koichi Minamoto,' Koichi replied, making sure not to let go of the wood and ruin all their work. 'I'm sorry I-'

Zoe didn't seem bothered at all, simply standing up again and surveying the once-garden. 'Well,' she declared at large. 'Let's get this place into tip-top shape.'

The Floramon, after a bit of persuasion, were only too happy to accept another two pairs of help. And apparently the blonde had a way with words, because in minutes JP was wheeling the heavy wheelbarrow all over and the Floramon were all busy, following her instructions.

'Grazie,' she said, taking the flower Flora handed her and setting it into the small hole the Floramon had dug, scooping up the loose dirt and packing it in gently. 'There, all done.'

Koichi, who figured it would probably be easier of one of the humans did the watering, sprinkled the marigold with some moisture before straightening up as the other stood, and together they looked at the finished garden as Zoe wiped her forehead, leaving a smudge of soil behind.

'Well,' she commented as JP emptied the last burrow. 'That wasn't so tough. And it sure looks pretty.'

'It sure does,' Koichi agreed quietly, admiring the effect. 'It's beautiful.'

'It's not going to last very long,' Elder said sadly, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, a sudden gust blew through, hard enough to blow a few of the weaker petals from their flowers.

'Why do you bother rebuilding?' a voice wryly asked. 'When you know we are going to destroy it all again?'

'Please don't-' Elder began, before mushrooms started raining upon them all.

The next moment, they were all laughing like crazy. The Floramon anyway. The three humans, Bokomon and Neemon (who actually hadn't been introduced to Koichi yet) were just staring in various degrees of bewilderment.

'What are you all laughing for?' Zoe shouted, stepping forward as Koichi knelt down next to Flora who was choking on her laughter, lungs not quite as strong as the adult counterpart.

'If you were a Floramon,' one of the giant bobbing Mushroomon commented with an almost sinister grin. 'You'd be laughing too.'

Zoe opened her mouth furiously, only to be cut off by Koichi.

'It's cruel,' he said in his usual quiet tone. 'Making them laugh when their heats scream in protest. Let them go.'

The Mushroom leered at him. 'Are you going to do something about it?'

'I'm not the one who should do anything.'

The smile faded a little. 'What?'

Zoe stepped forward again, spreading out her arms as the Floramon gasped for breath. 'You guys used to work together?' she said. 'Your tricks, their soup, the garden you all shared? Why are you destroying it all?'

The two smaller ones hovered behind their eldest brother. 'Because,' he spat. 'The tourists liked _them_ more.'

'That's not true,' the nearest Floramon panted. 'They liked you just as much as-'

'Liar!' he shouted, and the Floramon started giggling again.

Zoe pressed on, marching right up to the eldest brother and slapping him across the face.

Both boys simply gaped at her.

* * *

><p>Why did he always have to interfere with fights? Apparently, he was a nice guy somewhere or other, because when he saw the butterfly losing to a tree stump, his D-tector in his hand.<p>

Luckily, the fight was a relatively easy one. Well, that fight was anyway. What followed after…later he would consider that as a fight. But at the current moment it didn't seem much like that.

He devolved, before releasing the data of the Woodmon, forming back into three Mushroomon all four managed to barely get a glimpse of before the Floramon crowded them. A few apologies and joys could be deciphered, but the humans were all staring at each other.

Actually, JP was doing so the least, simply lamenting that he was now the only one without a spirit (he didn't know whether or not his classmate had one, as he had made no move either way). Zoe was exhausted, sinking to the ground with a thanks. Koichi's face also held surprised as he watched a wolf-like humanoid turn into his brother. Koji wasn't surprised per say, but he certainly wasn't particularly happy at running into his brother.

'What are you doing here?'

'Apparently trying to get home,' Koichi replied. 'Where were you?'

'None of your business,' the other snapped. 'Just because Mum wants you to stick to me like glue, doesn't mean I do.'

Koichi said nothing to that. In fact, the silence was almost stony, and it didn't slip past his twin.

'What? Are you jealous I can do something before you?'

Koichi didn't have many pockets, and having a device as large as the D-tectors would have been quite noticeable…if one knew where to look.

'Why would I be?' the tone had turned almost cold. 'Why would I want to go around with light sabers saving the world?'

'Hmmph.' Koji gave him another look before turning around to walk off. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something else, but then he thought better of it.

And there was no need to worry, which was an almost undetected relief. After all, Koichi had company, and if he chose to wing it by himself…well, that was his problem. He needed the company (at least more than _him_), and if he was going to throw it away, it was for his own idiocy. It was an almost pleasant change since the…earlier hours, though he was lucky he'd had to walk less as a result.

Suffice to say though, Koji was in a very sour mood by the end of the day's events, when the sun _finally_ went down.


	10. Thinner than Blood

Author's Notes

The times are different between the two worlds. So when they left the real world in the afternoon, they arrived in the Digital World in the morning, so it was around midday when Koichi and Angler parted ways…which was also about the time Koji got his human spirit. Now it is further into the afternoon, and then into the next day. So to sum up, Takuya, Tommy, Zoe and Koji have their spirits. JP doesn't. Koichi doesn't even have his D-tector. We've passed through episodes 1-3 (except the very end) and episode 4 is partially rewritten so JP doesn't get his spirit. In fact, the Wind Factory's only mentioned in passing. The reason is towards the end of this chapter, which continues into the next chapter and also concludes day 2.

Oh yeah, and Bokomon's book gets automatically updated on everything the original author originally knew. That's why the continent of darkness pages are blank. Author never went there. Also, the author never knew anything about the ancient warrior of darkness, so the spirit of darkness isn't mentioned in the book. But the "legend" is common knowledge.

I thought for a while I wasn't going to get this done. Kept on getting distracted, and not only by my new fictionpress account (hehe, advertising there. Check it out, my name's Small Wings Flying). But I made it. And now I have to get a couple chapters ahead in the next six weeks or so so I'll be good for the exam period. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. I've been trying for the last to weeks, and look where I'm at.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

Thinner than Blood

'Apparently you two don't get along very well,' Zoe commented as they set about fixing the damage again with a few extra hands.

Koichi looked at her briefly, before shrugging almost distractedly. 'He's my brother,' was the reply he gave.

'I don't have any myself, but I still think you two seem like an odd pair of brothers,' the blonde persisted. 'I've known Takuya for only a few hours, and he's already complained up a storm about him. Still, there's some pride buried in…even if he won't admit it.' She laughed at that. 'Man, being an older sibling must have a lot of responsibility. I think I'd like my privacy to myself.'

'Yeah…' the other, almost listlessly, agreed.

'Are you even listening to me?'

'Yeah,' Koichi replied again, setting up the garden frame.

Zoe gave him an odd look, then coaxed a flower into the soft soil.

'Are you proud to have him as a brother?' she persisted.

This time there was a pause before he replied in the affirmative.

'What about him?'

A longer pause.

'He's…strong,' came the reply in the end. 'And independent. He's always been able to handle himself.'

'Okay.' To the relief of the elder Minamoto twin, the blonde accepted that. Although, to his dismay, she attached herself to a different tangent. 'Do you mind?'

'Excuse me?' The question didn't quite click until the explanation followed.

'Do you mind he chooses to go off on his own?'

Koichi looked up, some dirt staining his right cheek, making that eye look ever so slightly darker. 'No,' he said quietly, blue eyes meeting with green before he turned slightly, breaking the spell to look down at Flora by his feet with her little watering can. 'No, I don't.'

The way he said it sounded almost believable, almost being the key word. There was a hint of sadness, or perhaps it was best described as lament. In any case, it was that little teardrop that spoilt the effect. Apart from that was an almost remote feeling, which found itself being far more effective than the icy possibility.

Zoe looked like she was going to say something else, but a shout cut her off.

'Hey! So that's where you two got to!'

The blonde stood up with a bit of a huff, putting her arms at her hips.

'For your information,' she huffed. 'We weren't the ones who went off into a dry plain when it was obvious the forest terminal was towards the forest direction.' The she smirked. 'Let me guess. You two hit a dead end.'

'No,' the taller of the two brunettes, whom Koichi recognised as his brother's friend Takuya, answered, although it was blatantly obvious to anyone but himself that he was lying.

'Well,' JP grinned, apparently over his disappointment…and the wheelbarrow. 'You missed Zoe spirit evolve.'

The other two brunettes started. 'What?' Then, simultaneously, they cracked up.' Yeah right.'

'What's so unbelievable about that?' Zoe's tone immediately took a steely edge. 'Can't girls spirit evolve?'

'It is true, you know.' Bokomon, smartly, cut through the pending argument. 'Zoe spirit evolved into Kazemon.'

'Yeah,' Flora cheered by Koichi's knee, almost dropping the can. Luckily, the boy caught it. 'Butterfly.'

'Well, if you all say so.' Takuya looked at Koichi. 'Hey, you're…umm…dang it. I forgot your name buddy. Your Koji's brother though, right? I'd never forget that face-ouch.'

He rubbed his head where Zoe had bopped him. 'What was that for?'

'Letting your mouth run on motor,' the girl snapped back.

'Hey,' the boy said in his own defence, holding his arms up in a mode of physical protection. 'I didn't say it was weird or anything. It just looks exactly like Koji.'

Zoe sighed, giving up.

'It's Koichi,' Koichi said, eyes darkening for a fraction of a second at the comment.

'Oh.' Takuya laughed sheepishly. 'Right. Koichi.'

'Are you two dating?' Flora asked suddenly, looking between Takuya and Zoe and causing them both to jump so fast, their heads almost collided.

'No,' they sputtered in a single voice, red coating their cheeks as Tommy giggled at the display, JP looked at the embarrassed pair and Koichi looked down at the little Floramon.

'Are you making stew?'

'No,' Zoe spluttered again, although the brunette's face took on a blank quality.

'Stew?' he asked, a tad too loud apparently as one of the older Floramon looked over.

'Would you like some?' she inquired, prompting some mixed reactions.

'Yay!' the Digimon cheered, and Flora immediately abandoned her watering can to lend a hand…or a taste bud. It was difficult to see which she truly meant to offer.

'As long as we don't have to see it made,' JP muttered.

'We've already eaten,' Zoe pointed out.

'_We_ didn't,' Takuya and Tommy pointed out simultaneously.

'Yeah, well _you_ got los-' She cut off with another blush as her stomach growled.

Then she grinned sheepishly. Suffice to say, they did wind up having some stew as the sun set on their backs. And staying the night at the insistence of the Floramon.

* * *

><p>Koichi lay awake for quite a long time, listening to the level breathing of those beside him. The Floramon didn't have beds, or futons per say, but they had spread out leaf litter on the floor of their diningentertainment room while moving the tables back so all seven of them, Bokomon and Neemon included, fit with ease. The other six were deep in sleep, although the humans had taken a while to get comfortable with sleeping with the fresh smell wafting through their nostrils, but all of them had slept on futons at se stage in the past, so the floor wasn't an issue they had to contend with. He'd wager, if he dared to bring up the topic, that he'd spent more time on futons than them, particularly when he had a seizure at home and was recovering…or was recovering at home after returning from a seizure, mostly because he'd topple off the bed if he tried getting up. Even if it was far more comfortable for his aching muscles. And his parents would fuss over him, make sure he had painkillers if he needed them (he hated the little red-capped devils), water and lots of pillows, then pat him on the head and leave him to get some sleep.

A lot of that time passed like it was passing now, just laying and looking up at the ceiling.

The only difference was the additional company, but they were asleep. His eyes should have been drooping by all accounts; it had been a long, exhausting day, and he had barely gotten a wink of sleep the night before. Indeed, his eyes were burning in protest, but he found he couldn't keep them closed. His head felt heavy each time he tried, as if it had been stuffed full of fog, or worse, under water where there would be no oxygen to quell his starving for air. He wasn't claustrophobic; he was fairly sure of that. He also wasn't afraid of the dark; it was pitch black right then and there, and he was having no problems in staring sightlessly at the ceiling. He just couldn't close his eyes and sleep. Because some unseen terror was lurking behind his eyes.

He knew exactly what it was, and he trembled slightly, staring blindly out into the world. The rhythmic breaths around him sounded slightly louder, and his heart both took comfort and resisted the company. This world…

He sighed noiselessly. This world seemed so different to the human one. Dimmer somehow. Less sharp. And yet more open. More friendly. Even more natural.

It was the light, he realised suddenly. There were no artificial lights here. No globes on twenty-four hours a day. No blaring signs and street-lights glaring from every corner. No cars driving around, exhausting gas while making their car lights shine all that brighter. No pollution to make the sun glare out upon the world. No asphalt where the rain and splashes of water pooled, letting rays bounce off them and reflect into others' eyes. Even when it had been midday and the sun had been blaring on the horizon, it was nothing like the sun he tolerated in their own world.

_Why?_ he wondered to himself. _Why was it like that? What's different about this place?_

He wondered for a moment if that meant he'd never have another seizure again. But the idea was soon squashed by common sense. No way he'd be that lucky. Just because he hadn't had one so far in this world, it didn't mean he wouldn't. After all, direct sunlight wasn't even supposed to cause seizures in PSE patients. And it didn't. It was the light bouncing off everything that was a problem.

Besides, even if that was the case, he'd have to go home eventually. Back to their own world. Back to their house…where the key still lay nestled in his pocket. All that running after his brother, and it was utterly useless. It had brought him a brief moment of utopia, and for what?

_Nothing_, he decided. _Once we're back, nothing is going to change. So this isn't going to change anything._

The last thing he saw before his mind slipped away into darkness was the image of his brother: tall, powerful and self-contained…and holding two blades fashioned of pure light.

* * *

><p>They thankfully accepted the offer of breakfast…not that the Floramon would have taken 'no' for an answer. But all of them, with varying levels of regret, were forced to decline the offer to stay more.<p>

'We really have to be going,' Zoe explained. 'We need to get to the Forest Terminal.'

That was news to Koichi, but he kept silent. He wasn't sure he was in any particular rush to get there anymore. In fact, he wasn't sure if he even _wanted_ to get there. Because there, according to Angler, was the way…home.

'And you?' Elder turned to Koichi, while Flora clung to his pant leg.

Takuya blinked in surprise. 'I thought you were coming with us.'

He looked, instead of the subject, at Zoe and JP, who exchanged glances and then shrugged. 'I don't think the subject ever came up,' the female admitted.

It was true. They (mostly Takuya and Bokomon) had talked quite a bit, explaining along the way the weird phone messages and the whole spirit-evolution gig, but no-one had mentioned travel plans.

And when it was thown out like that, he wasn't left with all that much of a choice. Especially since he was lacking one of those things called a D-tector. At least now he knew what Angler had been talking about on that subject. At first, it had struck him like a little pang; they all had D-tectors, and so had his brother. He'd seen the device in the other's hand. Angler had asked him for his, then said that perhaps it had been a mistake. A mistake of him being here perhaps? Because he wasn't going to save the world? Okay, that was true. Or was it because it was a waste of resource? Or because he was _sick_?

He lowered his eyes with a slightly glare at the ground, still musing on the thought, not even hearing the question until Zoe waved her hand in front of his face.

'Sorry,' he apologized, his tone somewhat dimmer than normal…although she wasn't likely to pick up on that. There was only one person in the world they were currently in that might, and he wasn't anywhere around. 'I wasn't listening.'

Zoe sighed, sounding almost reminiscent of a school teacher. 'At least you admit it,' she muttered, before clearing her throat. 'So you're coming with us, right?'

Considering the way everyone stared at him in that moment, he didn't think he could say no.

And that's how he would up regrettably prying a teary Flora from his leg and waving farewell to the Elder who had chosen to see her visitors off. Ironically, she had brought her knitting along with her, and no-one could understand why the dark-haired boy had suddenly burst into giggles at the sight of that.

He knew of course. It had reminded him of his grandmother. His most favourite person in the whole wide world as a kid…until she passed away from cancer. Koji had never really liked her for some reason, but he'd loved her. She'd sit and knit in her rocking chair and tell him stories of far away lands, things Koji called baby stuff. She'd make delicious sweets that admittedly made him lose his appetite for dinner, but it was somewhat fun getting scolded by his mother the first few times. It had almost been like their little game. She had never treated him like a little kid. They'd go out shopping together. They'd go to see the old Japanese plays…another thing that Koji could not tolerate.

They'd go to the festival downtown during the daytime, dressed in light yukatas, and enjoy the rides and the horror house (which his parents didn't even know about, otherwise they'd probably freak out and have kittens; they wouldn't ground him, at worse they'd scold and lecture him for a while and make him feel guilty over the whole situation) and read books together and play board games. Sometimes they'd spent hours at chess, and Grandma Kimura would take up her knitting while he laboured over his moves. Sometimes, they'd still be playing and his parents would arrive to take him home, in which case she'd take her knitting out onto the pouch and wave until he was nothing save a speck in the distance.

Suffice to say, he was in a lighter mood leaving than he had expected.

* * *

><p>'Oh, I'm tired,' Tommy sighed, stopping again. Compared to the previous day, the current one had turned out to be particularly uneventful. Sure, they'd run into some trouble along the way, including a factory where they'd unwisely stopped for a lunch break, but JP in particular was rather down as they continued their trek through the forest. 'And hungry,' he added as his stomach grumbled on cue.<p>

'Me too,' Zoe moaned. 'Let's camp here.'

'Ooh,' Neemon declared suddenly, pointing. 'Look. Food.'

They all groaned as Takuya brightened. Rather, they groaned at his words. 'Let's race to that tree then.'

'No way,' Zoe and Tommy declared together. JP just put a scowl on his face, similar to how he had on the train when he was being bugged by all the "wrong" people and ignored by the "right", and Bokomon and Neemon were out of the question. Their legs were too short to make it a fair fight.

'You game?' Not to be deterred, the brunette turned to the only one who hadn't had a reaction.

Koichi eyed the distance. He and Koji used to race when they were rather small, but this distance was longer than that. About one and a half times as long. That being said, after he'd grown a little more, too much physical exercise turned out to result in him becoming dizzy enough to pick up light more sensitively…which only spelt trouble.

But he found suddenly that he really did want to run. To race, even if it wasn't against his brother but rather a guy he only knew through listening to various chains of small talk.

'Let's go.'

He hadn't expected the other to take off so quickly and unexpectedly, and that made it a bit of a chore to keep up. Suddenly, he found himself clearing his mind, pushing his body, feeling the wind whiz past his body, taking away everything else…

And then his fingers hit the tree they had been aiming at all too soon, and Takuya's closed upon his own.

'Damn,' the brunette muttered, panting. 'Just missed.' Then he straightened and grinned.

'You were pretty fast though. Run track or something?'

Koichi stayed where he had doubled over, panting for his own breath. Running like that had been…indescribable. For a moment, it had seemed he could really run so fast as to leave the rest of the world behind, but then it all caught up with him and he cracked up, slumping to the ground and practically choking on his laughter.

'Hey.' Takuya sounded a little annoyed. 'You don't have to rub it in, you know.'

Koichi just shook his head. 'No track,' he replied, trying to quell the giggles. It was crazy. Nothing he was thinking about prompted laughter. And no doubt the others would think he's crazy too.

'You're crazy,' JP muttered on cue. Apparently, the silence had stretched a little father than he had expected.

'JP,' Zoe scolded, before reaching out and plucking some sort of berry. 'These look scrumptious.'

She bit into the red, relishing its sweet taste. '_Delizioso,'_ she trilled.

That got everyone up. But it was when Koichi was about to bite into his first berry that Bokomon suddenly shouted: 'stop!'

They all jumped at that.

'What?' Takuya asked, Zoe grimacing as his mouth was half-full.

Bokomon however was looking at Koichi. 'Those ones are poisonous.'

They all dropped their berries, before realising there was an odd blue one.

'I would get the poisonous one on my first try,' Koichi muttered under his breath, before raising his voice. 'So the red ones are fine and the blue ones are poisonous?'

'That's about it,' the white gnome agreed, whacking Neemon who had been reaching for that very berry. 'You idiot. Didn't I just say that was poisonous.'

'I guess we have to be more careful,' the blonde said, inspecting the branches. 'Thank goodness there's still some light.'

She took off her hat and started picking some of the red berries. 'It's easier,' she explained to the looks from the boys. 'That way we can double check, and we won't have to worry afterwards. Who knows, we might even be able to avoid those sour plums for lunch.'

'They tasted like liquorice,' Tommy elaborated, taking off his own hat and helping Zoe.

'We might as well get to the other side of the tree,' JP said after a moment's pause when the other two didn't do anything. 'They'll be nothing left otherwise.'

But that was where their plan got completely skewered, as just as Koichi was reaching for the first red berry he spotted to put into his own hat (which he was wearing for apparently unknown reasons; it had been a part of his unexpected clothing change from his school uniform), when he was grabbed from behind.

Takuya and JP spun around at his gasp in surprise as the hat fell to the ground, only to blink a little dumbly at the wooden face that was looming under four fists and the struggling boy hanging in midair.

'What the heck?' Takuya managed finally. 'Are you supposed to be a tree with hands?'

'As I say,' the other replied with a slight accent. 'The softest wood is the most fruitful…right?'

'Uh…' The two brunettes still blinked as Koichi's mind scrambled for some ground. It was somewhat dizzying to be up so high (even if it was two metres at the most), and his brain was somewhat behind on the times. 'You mind letting go of him?'

'What's going on?' Zoe poked her face around the tree, before gasping…which alerted the remaining three, Bokomon quickly riffling through his book.

'Let's see,' he mumbled. 'Ah, here we are. Arbormon, the Legendary Warrior of Wood. He's one of Cherubimon's warriors.'

'That's right,' the…Arbormon replied, giving his arms a little shake as Koichi decided that shaking himself loose from the bonds was a no-dice. He definitely didn't like being up there, and part of him was…well, afraid. After all, it wasn't every day he was swept off his feet and held a couple of metres up in the air by a talking tree, albeit it could be worse. 'And I must say it's very useful to have dogs follow their nose-'

'Which means we'll have to fight you, right?' Takuya's code was halfway scanned before Zoe managed to grab his arm.

'Are you crazy?' she hissed at him. 'Hello, warrior of fire vs. warrior of wood? Are you trying to burn Koichi to cinders?'

'Whoops,' he muttered, as she took her own D-tector out and swiped her code through, Tommy following suit. JP had, in fact, stuck his own hand into his pocket before remembering he lacked a spirit.

'Ah,' the walking tree said. 'And so the maggots all gather on the wood-'

He was cut off again, this time by Koichi's unexpected foot hitting him square between the eyes, taking advantage of both the height, his own manoeuvring, and the distraction.

'Ouch,' he growled as the human darted away. The other humans (or hybrids) stared at him.

'What?' he protested. 'I wasn't going to stay there like a dummy.'

Kazemon giggled at that. 'You tough guy,' she commented, before firing a surge of wind at the fist coming towards her. 'Oi, Kumamon. Lend a hand.'

'No problem,' the other replied, taking a deep breath to blow frost all over the wood.

Apparently though, their attempt wasn't very successful.

'A little trouble before saved a lot of trouble after, right?'

Apparently not, because he was _causing_ a whole lot of trouble.

'What is with this guy?' JP grumbled to himself. 'Giving out random advice and being a pain.'

'Who cares,' Takuya exclaimed, swiping his data again. 'He's going down, whatever he's trying to do.'

The data scanned through the barcode reader. 'Execute, Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!'

'And we just stand here,' JP sighed, before getting knocked over as a fist flew over his head. 'Uurgh, me and my big mouth.'

He was almost reminded of the incident over at the Wind Factory. Only, that hadn't been his mouth doing most of the talking. All the same though, how is they always found themselves into crazy situations they had to fight their way out of? First the Cerberumon at Flame Terminal, then the numerous amount of Pagumon who somehow turned into a Raremon, then all the Mushroomon who'd been brainwashed and later turned into Woodmon, then the Snimon and all the Goblimon, and now this Arbormon.

'Forget that,' Koichi replied, attempting and failing to pull him back to his feet and plopping down again as another fist flew over his head. 'What's your D-tector doing?'

JP blinked at the device, that was suddenly showing a map. 'Oh seriously,' he exclaimed. 'After fighting Snimon with a forklift, I'll finally find my spirit!' Then he looked around, and ducked under another fist. 'Damn, he's not going to let us get away to find it.'

Koichi frowned, then rolled out of the way of another fist. The next one landed in the dirt behind his back. 'He might,' he said slowly. 'It seems he's far more interested in me.'

'Oh don't-' the elder brunette began, feeling immediately guilty, but it had taken only a split moment for Koichi to make his mind up over the crazy idea.

'Hey!' he yelled, moving further to the right to put as much space between himself and his classmate as possible. 'What do you want with us anyway?'

Somehow or other, his voice wasn't swallowed in the commotion, but that didn't mean the digimon he had intended answer the question.

That also, however, didn't mean that no-one did.


	11. Going as a Team

Author's Notes

Excuse my attempt at Shakespeare lingo (again). I'm more of a Greek tragedy person, though I loved Macbeth.

This also stems into episode 9. You know, the nightmare scene.

I'll get to all my replies tomorrow. I'm going to bed now. Onami wa.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10<span>

Going as a Team

Koichi didn't really know _what_ he was thinking. He had no form of defence. He had no fighting experience, unless one was to count the numerous books he read, most of which had a reference to some form of conflict. He was still rather winded from that breath-taking sprint. And he wasn't, by any means, loud or persuasive. In short, he would make a pathetic distraction. With his luck, he'd probably just fade into the background and not get noticed.

Actually, that wouldn't have been _too_ bad. At least then he'd have been in one whole piece and no worse off than when he had come up with the spur-of-the-moment crazy idea. As it was, only one person had registered his question, and it hadn't been one whose presence _he'd_ registered until the moment in which the male voice replied.

'It's not indeed a circumstance of our desires, but rather tis of others.'

'What?' he said automatically, freezing in place except for his eyes which darted around for the source. He thought he heard a bit of a Shakespearean accent in the words; a forced one.

'Thy own specifically,' the voice continued, echoing strangely. A chuckled followed thereafter as the blue eyes darted around, rest of the body staying perfectly still. 'Albeit thy fear betrays thyself.'

There was a moment of silence under the clashes and shouts around.

'Thee shan't deny it?'

The boy lightly gritted his teeth and spun around, catching a glimpse of light before it vanished. His eyes instinctively closed.

'Does it pain thy eyes? This glitter?'

Koichi turned away slightly. The voice sounded almost mocking. Part of him wanted to shout and scream and break those words, but he stayed still. He was on the disadvantage, blind to his speaker.

And it didn't really matter after all. Except the taunting still somewhat bit.

'"All that glitters is not golden",' the voice quoted, and this time he sounded a tad understanding. 'Tell me, how long before thy friends fall to my companion's sword?'

'They're not my friends,' the other responded automatically, and without thinking. The laugh that followed told him he may have made a mistake in saying those words.

The funny thing was that they were true. He barely knew them. He hadn't talked to them nearly as much as the others. All he knew were their names, some shallow details and the things he could easily pick out from close scrutiny. Takuya: overconfidence, persistence that tended in circumstances to border on annoyance, naivety …that naivety followed through to the younger brunette too. Not to mention he seemed to practically hero worship a boy he had known for little over a day. That was always a potential for trouble. Zoe was somewhat different. She was forthcoming in her own right, and shared with Takuya the quality of stubbornness, but there was something cutting about her, as opposed to burning. JP he already knew from school, somewhat like a lost puppy chasing after somebody else's bone.

That was just the bitter part of him talking. The rest of him saw other qualities, qualities he found himself, within a single day, envying. None of them stopped from speaking their mind. Even JP who did sometimes alter his words to match others, would still find some way to transfer his own opinion. To stand out. The only two things he stood out for…well, three things really, was being an April fool's baby and therefore the youngest in the year, "smart" and sick. He hated all three of those things.

People would wonder why he hated his own birthday. Some would understand the difficulties that came with standing on the higher pedestal of the academic step ladder. Some others might understand the difficulties that came with having a dysfunction, whether that be mental or physical, or in his case, a mix of both. It didn't affect his learning ability; he read and absorbed far else because that was one of the few options left to him…or, according to his Doctor, one of the few opportunities he left himself. But the birthday people always found odd…provided they knew of course. Few did.

It seemed like a silly reason in retrospect, but it was the candles. He didn't care so much it was on April Fools; people could laugh but it wasn't like his family ever tried to trick him on his birthday. It was just another birthday, whether he'd been born in March or December or any other month of the year. The only difference was he'd just made the cut-off date. It worked out better for him though; he wouldn't have been able to sit around for another year like his brother had. But Koji wasn't that much of a fan of school, of sitting and reading. He preferred to be out in the world, doing things.

Sometimes _he_ wanted that too. But he couldn't do it.

For a moment, he saw red lips twist into a smirk…and then the forest was burning.

* * *

><p>'Ah crap,' Takuya muttered. That was the best he could manage. One would think that fire had a large advantage against wood. Heck, he'd even got part of the forest smoking (albeit unintentionally) but the Arbormon was still swinging around his ridiculous fists with as much gusto as he originally had, punching through Tommy's snowballs and easily dodging his own fire fists. Kazemon's wind might as well have been a pleasant breeze for all the good it seemed to do, although her kicks were having effect.<p>

It wasn't as though their adversary had come out unscathed. He did spring a couple of dents (courtesy of Tommy's icicle and Kazemon's kicks, the latter being more responsible) and a few scorch marks from his own flames…but seriously, he should have been smouldering and burning like all the branches around.

'Tommy,' Zoe shrieked. 'Put out the fire!'

She fixed him with a glare under her visor at the same moment, and he grinned sheepishly, trying the all fashioned kick which managed to divert a punch to another trunk.

'He keeps on dodging them,' the brunette complained. 'And your wind isn't exactly helping matters.'

'That's true,' she admitted, before blushing a little and kicking away another. 'Aargh, can't this guy use any other attack?'

Bad idea, as the other suddenly did divert from his Roundhouse Kicks, using something called a Power Pummel instead. The result left all three of them bound tightly with the thirsty vines leeching energy.

_Where are JP and Koichi?_ they couldn't help but wonder. Hopefully they had gotten somewhere safe and didn't get it into their heads to rescue them. All of them could remember JP's frustration at the Wind Factory, and no doubt Koichi felt the same, even if he had failed to mention it.

'Now who should I drain first?' Arbormon mused. 'Eat the most delicate courses first I think. A hasty meal is an unfulfilling meal after all.'

If it had been any other circumstance, Zoe would have slapped him. In any case, as the walking tree got nearer, she attempted to boot him in the head like Koichi before her. Only, her legs were bound too. Sure, he'd been hanging in the air, but only half his body had been restrained.

Behind them, the trees stood frozen in Tommy's ice. There was one blessing at least.

* * *

><p>JP stumbled slightly as the signal pointed underneath him. He had almost reached the factory again before veering off the path into an older abandoned building…of a sort. It looked like it had once been a factory, but all that was left was a half-crumbled statue that resembled the Kokuwamon and the flat disk shaped structure upon which it stood.<p>

Apparently they had walked into the forest just out of the D-tector's range…or it hadn't been picked up. But his blue and yellow device was beeping merrily now, inviting him to join with his destiny.

For the briefest of moments, lightning crashed in the sky above him. He flinched and looked up, but it was clear except for the smoke beginning to rise. Agunimon's doing probably.

That reminded him of the fight he had left his friends in, and he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again and held his D-tector high. Not as he had in Breezy Village, hoping the spirit of wind had been his bequest.

He hadn't been ready then. Simply wishing. He was ready now.

The spirit and scanner met, and for a moment the entire world faded into yellow.

_Are you ready to fight?_

'Yeah…Execute, Spirit Evolution!'

He emerged from his fractal code, fists clenched as electricity surged with power and buzzing wings eager to take to the air.

'Beetlemon!'

* * *

><p>The fire stopped almost as soon as it had started, but the reflection persisted a little while longer. The paralysis faded into anger, and then a mix of frustration, shame…and the anger was still there.<p>

'Tell me.' The unseen speaker was plainly amused by his initial fright. 'Does thy world resolve around tis simple human?'

'No,' the boy snapped back with an edge in his voice, slowly circling on the spot and abandoning the more subtle position which may have served him better. After all, he had just given the other the pleasure of knowing he had gotten to him, so to speak.

'Hmm…' It was difficult to tell whether the mocking sound was disbelief or something…else. 'Wouldn't you rather be away from this light?' It frightens thee. It pains thee-'

He cut off as if the other had shouted at him at that point, but Koichi had stayed silent. Unblinking. Unmoving.

The lips loomed into view again, twisting into a smirk. Then it was joined by a mirrored face, and a body of the same sort with green gauntlets as hands.

'Thy friends are locked in combat still,' the mirror-digimon said calmly. 'Does it not bother thee?'

'I cannot help them,' was the reply.

'I know it.' Another smirk, more infuriating than the last. 'Tis not your place, ye dark child. Light is no path for thee to walk, and thee knows it very well.'

He vanished into the dark of the forest again, and this time Koichi managed to make out a snap before he vanished. A bright snap, almost like a flaming lantern had been lit in his face, or a 100W globe suddenly switched on. It blinded him so suddenly that he barely had the moment to blink before he found the ground vanishing beneath him.

Around him was something cold. Something temporarily supporting him, even if there was no physical contact. It was almost like he was in a dream…but he highly doubted that. His dreams never gave him the comfort of being cold, that pleasant chill.

And then he was surrounded by fire again, but this time two eyes stared at him through the flames.

'My master would like an audience with thee.' It was the Shakespearean voice, overlaying the other, more familiar and yet ultimately more distant ones. They sounded worried, and yet detached. Like how pedestrians did when he had a seizure in the streets, hovering around him before vanishing and getting on with their lives…like they should.

The fire took him back to another fire. His home collapsing. Koji gone, nowhere to be seen. A stranger coming towards him. Strangers hovering over him. Parents nowhere to be seen. Koji nowhere to be seen. Then blackness, where he could see nothing at all. No little figures of light threatening him with their sharpened swords. Where he could pretend there was no light looming at the edge of his vision, teasing, poking, threatening…no strangers looming with their sweat coated faces, wordlessly mouthing with pity and a distant concern gleaming in their eyes, and best of all, the people he wanted right by his side.

But there was one difference. In this darkness, this blotted world, there were no parents beside him, the people he'd been a burden to for so long. No Koji. _Especially_ not Koji, who would be happier that way anyway.

* * *

><p>Fate certainly had odd timing. That was the first thought that blew across JP's mind when he came across the fast-paced scene. He saw the events almost like flash images: Kazemon's shout, a flash that he realised at a slightly later stage was teleportation, the sudden appearance of a guy dressed with mirrors and a shocked Koichi suddenly hovering in the air, Arbormon's arms leering closer to the spirit of wind upon a weakened girl, Takuya's attempt to burn away the vines causing the said green rope to snatch away from the three digimon (two digimon and single human now) and throw the fire at its tips towards the one human who hadn't been so bound…or rather, around him.<p>

And then Koichi was falling. Not from particularly high mind you, but into the miniature forest fire that, within seconds, burnt away Tommy's hard work.

So he did the reflexive thing. Dove down and caught the boy before he got burnt…too badly. His skin and clothes already looked somewhat skinned. But instead of the frightened, shocked…or even mad gaze he had been expecting, he received nothing in return. The blue eyes were shut, but not with fear. A little shake brought no life into the other.

Zoe collapsed forward, sprawling without any violation of her own onto the drying grass. It was quickly catching alight, and Tommy took a deep breath with haste before spraying the fire with frost.

It was only when the blonde swiped her fractal code through her D-tector a second time that she realised the other had actually succeeded.

'Hey!' She roared. 'Give that back.'

'Finders keepers,' the warrior of wood taunted, holding his prize as a fist hit Agunimon and slammed him into a nearby tree.

'Hold it,' JP called, moving to slam his own fists down on the other's head. 'Thunder Fist!'

'Thou shan't defeat him in tis flimsy manner,' said a new voice (or new to them in any case), as there was a snap of fingers, and then a mirror appeared between his arms surging with electrical power and his target. With too much momentum in his drive he found himself unable to pull up and thus crashing into the glass. For a moment, he was stunned as force met force…and the next moment he was being blasted back into the air, electrocuted with his own current.

'The greedy heart loses that which he gains.' The Shakespearian wannabe sounded half like he was giving a sermon and half…well, rather bossy. 'Let us depart.'

There was another snap of the fingers, and in consequence the legendary warriors missed the exchange that passed between them. Then they vanished, leaving only the wind lamenting its loss.

'Who the heck was that guy?' Takuya grumbled, picking himself up with a rub to the head as he de-digivolved. 'Oww…my head.'

'Well, it's a good thing your skull's so thick,' Zoe shot back, but without her usual fervour. The loss of her spirit was burning like spluttering embers in her heart. The point was picked up by all three of them, and JP punched one fist into the other, the open, palm before wincing as he climbed to his feet after the fall. Thankfully, some foliage had broken his otherwise rather messy descent.

'Mercurymon,' Bokomon's voice spoke up from somewhere inside a bush, breaking the silence which was starting to stretch rather uncomfortably. 'The Legendary Warrior of Steel.'

'Great. Two bad warriors.'

Tommy, alone unscathed, stood as the white gnome and yellow rabbit stumbled out of their cover. There was Takuya, still rubbing his head. There was Zoe, lamenting the loss of her spirit. There was JP, still rubbing his seat where he had landed. There was Koichi, laying where Beetlemon had set him down, with only the rise and fall of his chest.

* * *

><p><em>There was a heavy fog persisting within his head. Words echoed nonsensically, yet somehow tying into the same general meaning. The grey canvas slowly darkened into black, and the voices muted themselves, fading into the growing darkness. It was almost pleasant. Drifting, numb, without feeling or pain…<em>

He was trembling. Shaking. He could feel something beneath him, as if he was laying on something uneven. Twigs, he guessed finally, before sighing internally. He didn't really want to wake up. It was so peaceful sprawled as he was.

But there were murmurs around him. Some bitter scent wafting through his nostrils. Smoke, he realised dazedly…before his eyes flew open.

Smoke. It was smoke.

It took a moment for him to realise it was only a small fire, where the apples were cooking on skewered sticks, and Tommy was listlessly poking the deathtrap.

Zoe had been staring at him however, and immediately came over as he sat up.

'Are you okay?' she asked, helping him up. Her hold felt hot, as if he had accidently brushed against a hotplate, or gotten his sleeve stuck in his grandmother's old poker. The second metaphor was perhaps the more accurate one; the feeling still persisted. Or perhaps it was more like a mosquito bite, save more persistent. As opposed to a single itch, the touch felt inflamed, and he had shrugged her off before his mind caught up to his senses. It was then that he noticed the hurt look on the other's face.

'I'm sorry,' he said, making to turn to her…before the tip of the fire caught the edge of peripheral vision. For a moment he froze, before a scowl formed across his face and he turned the other way, looking towards the dark forest. The shadows of the night twisted amongst the trees, looking strangely enticing as they curved away from the fire's glow.

The glow chilled him somewhat, and he drew his light autumn-wear jacket around his frame before twisting so his back was to the flames.

Zoe followed. He could see her from the corner of his vision.

'Are you okay?' she persisted.

'Sure,' the other replied. Then, at the disbelieving look, he added without turning to her: 'I'm fine.'

'You didn't get burnt badly.'

'No.' He didn't even check. He well knew the pain of it though. There was no flesh seared away by heat beneath his clothing. That he was sure of.

'Well…' She broke off a little awkwardly. 'We saved some apples for you…if you're hungry.'

She dumped one in his lap. He noted she didn't touch him again.

A little later, after staring into the odd coloured and somewhat hairy surface, he took a small and almost tentative bite, before hastily standing.

'Hey buddy.' That was Takuya, turning from where he had been staring at the moon with JP, leaving the conversation without a close. 'Where you going?'

'For a walk,' the other replied, tone rather flat. 'It's too…warm here.'

He refrained from saying "bright". It bothered him though; there was hardly any illumination. Simply the almost full moon, the stars and the light from the fire. Bright probably wasn't an accurate term. After all, it was mainly the fire…and the body warmth of the people who were under its veil.

Still, he heard the incredulous: 'warm? It's freezing out here.'

And then a following: 'I told you he was weird.'

Some way away, the apple slipped out of his lax grasp and tumbled in the grass. A cracked twig a moment later, and he recognised the scenery. The place where the fight had taken place.

Ridicule was perhaps a more accurate term.

But he stopped walking still, standing as the dark wind whistled in his ears.

'So,' a familiar voice reached his ears. 'You came back after all.'

He turned away from the glistening steel.

'Perhaps I should say the same to you,' he remarked, bitterness buried in his tone. 'Or have I not brought you far out of your way.'

The lips twisted into a scowl. 'Bite thee tongue,' he snapped. 'I should obliterate thee upon the ground upon which thee stands-'

A cloud stretched over the moon, blinking out the last source of light and plunging the forest into darkness…except for a small fire that burnt far away.

Then red eyes gleamed in that black cover.

'You shall not Mercurymon.' This voice was one the dark haired male recognised not; it was a mix of honey and something strong and scalding. Pepper maybe. The mixture his grandmother always gave him, mixed with chamoline tea on occasion, when he had a sore throat.

It was the sort that was both bitter and sweet. Repulsive and attracting. Almost like the idea of going to school the previous morning had been, only it felt far more significant…and at the same time, far less.

'Come child.' Shadowy arms grew from the cloud, stretching out to swallow him whole. 'I will give you what you wish so dearly for.'

* * *

><p>Both Zoe and Tommy had fallen asleep. JP poked at the fire; he had been the unfortunate one to draw the short straw. Takuya had, for reasons of his own, stayed up too, and somehow the conversation had divulged into his brother's birthday party.<p>

It was when they had gone onto the birthday cake and ice-cream when the cracking of a twig startled them.

'What was that?' JP asked.

There was another sound, this one a little different.

'Did you feel that?' That was Takuya.

'Uhh…yeah.' But he looked a tad awkward. 'But it was probably from those meat apples.' The elder brunet smiled sheepishly. 'You know what I mean.'

'I don't think that was it,' the goggle-wearer replied, squinting into the darkness. 'Damn it. It's too dark to see anything. I can't believe-'

Then he blinked, then started a little. 'Sheesh, don't sneak up on people like that Koichi!'

'Hn,' the younger twin replied, stepping into the firelight.

'Yeah…well, you two look very similar! Except for the hair-' He broke off as he heard the sound of something gliding through the wind. Apparently Koji had heard it too, because he left the irritation of being mistaken for his twin and looked as well.

JP looked lost.

'I can't believe you didn't hear it that time,' Takuya said, a tad exasperated. 'Seriously, you're supposed to be on guard-'

'Tommy!' JP exclaimed, spinning around. 'Something's wrong.'

The other two turned as Zoe and the two digimon stirred. Tommy tossed and turned fitfully, as if caught in the thralls of a thorny nightmare.

In the darkness, there was a tiny smirk.


	12. The Beast of Light

Author's Notes

Well, the title's a giveaway this time round. Mostly. There are a few twists. I'm still debating on the next chapter though.

This is almost a third done. And I thought I'd never get here.

Enjoy, and R&R (you know, I almost wrote tRNA there).

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11<span>

The Beast of Light

Koji looked at the sleeping figures: four humans and two digimon. The Tapirmon had departed after apologizing one last time, bequeathing good dreams upon the humans who had giving him back his sacred ring. It was a relief to know the nightmare was finally over; for a moment he'd been as involved as Tommy's other three friends, backing away from an adversary none of them could fight. It had taken him a moment afterwards to realise that it was not because the other had been a mere child because that somewhat bothered him; how others assumed they could not stand upon their own two feet. That resulted in them fitting into that stereotype, failing to rise to the opportunities given simply because that was the way they were used to. His reason though apparently had more to do with the fact that this was a kid who had suddenly flipped and turned against his friends. Sure, _he_ wasn't particularly friendly with them, but there was no denying that the four (perhaps five if Koichi could be included) had become quite close nit in the day and part of night that had passed.

He tilted his head up slightly, before sighing. Seriously, what had possessed him to but in on their business twice. Okay…the second time could have been considered repaying his debt to Takuya, but the first time…could have been considered to have more familial roots as Koichi had been present.

He couldn't help but notice that Koichi wasn't around now. His peripheral vision spanned on the six snoring figures, the dimming fire and the silent trees now standing where there was no wind.

He suddenly felt lost. It was an odd feeling, being surrounded by people who took him in without a second thought. Sure, Takuya had mixed him up with his brother, but had pointed out (quite reasonably too) that it was a perfectly innocent mistake to make in the dark. Black hair after all faded into the black night. But he really had to wonder about other stuff. Like why he somewhat…enjoyed being in company like this. Why running and fighting and working together had appeared so…natural. Why it was driving him crazy would be an answer he would like to know too.

His D-tector beeped, deep in his pocket, and he removed the device to stare at its flashing screen, not noticing the white gnome digimon sit up and rub his eyes before looking for the disturbance that had pulled him from his rest.

* * *

><p>'Ahh, that was great.' Takuya yawned loudly, before stretching his sleepy limbs, flexing his shoulders till he heard a satisfied "crack" before the bones fell into position. 'I haven't slept like that since my pesky brother started sleeping on the bunk on top of mine. He snores <em>so<em>.'

Tommy giggled at the complaint. 'Yutaka will never let me sleep in his bedroom,' he said. 'I have my own.'

'Let me tell you buddy, you are lucky,' the warrior of flame replied, before pausing somewhat. 'But you know what?'

'You got so used to the snoring that it took longer for you to fall asleep?' JP asked wryly, shaking his head as if to dislodge a gallon of water from it. Zoe said nothing, rubbing her eyes before wistfully checking her D-tector as if hoping her spirit had returned in the night. Her expression spoke volumes though; no such miracle had taken place.

'Don't worry.' Tommy moved over to her. 'We'll get it back.'

She forced a smile on her face. 'Never mind that,' she pointed out. 'We need to continue to the Forest Terminal.'

'We can't without your spirit-' Takuya began.

'But we don't even know where to look,' the blonde protested. 'It's a wild goose chase. In any case, isn't it more likely they'll follow us? So we might as well-'

'Hold on.' JP looked around. 'Where's Koji? And I don't remember Koichi coming back last night either.'

There was silence as the four humans surveyed the area.

'Bokomon and Neemon are gone too,' the eldest of the quartet pointed out thereafter, gesturing as two large leaves that had served as their futon. Then he looked back where he had seen the younger of the two twins last. 'Oh, hold on. There's something here.'

He went over to the trunk, pulling the paper out from under the rock.

"I'm going on my own," he read aloud. "So I can actually get something done."

He blinked thereafter. 'Sheesh, attitude much?' Then he blinked again at the two drawings underneath. 'Bokomon and Neemon have gone after him.'

Then he whipped around as Takuya punched the tree-bark.

'That idiot,' the brunette scowled, and he actually looked mad. 'It's bad enough he went on his own, but for Bokomon and Neemon to go with him? Is he going to even look out for them?' There was a sharp breath. 'We have to follow him.'

'Hold on,' JP frowned at the paper. 'Did one of you read this before me, because it's scrunched up?'

There were four shaking heads.

'Hmm…' It looked to the warrior of thunder as if someone had scrunched the paper in frustration or anger, so that probably ruled out Koji himself. After all, he was the one who wrote the note. And it definitely wasn't the part of clumsy handling. 'Oh, hold on,' he said again, turning the paper over in his hand. 'There's more on the other side.'

Then he blinked a third time, because it was Koichi's name signed at the bottom, and not Koji's. 'Huh? Well, I guess Koichi saw his brother's note.'

'Oh great,' Takuya sighed. 'Those twins can be real idiots sometimes.'

'What does it say?' Tommy asked, finding JP still skimming to the contents.

'At least it's more polite than his brother's,' the elder boy replied. 'Basically he decided he's not going to come with us to the Forest Terminal after all. He says it's not "his path", and to please not follow him. He also says goodbye.' His brow furrowed there. 'That's weird. Why say that? This world isn't that big is it? Even if he went clear in the opposite direction, we should bump into him again.'

'Maybe it's just a temporary goodbye,' Zoe shrugged. 'Does it matter?'

'Considering the first few lines are cutting into the page and the last can barely be read,' JP replied. 'I'd say so.'

'Hmm…' Then blonde shrugged again.

'I guess he is just weird.' The seventh grader mimicked the shrug. 'But should we really just leave him? I mean, he's not like Koji who has a spirit. And even if he did, would he use it to fight?'

'Considering he booted Arbormon, I'd say so.' Takuya gave him an odd look.

'Well…it's just that he's somewhat docile in school. Quiet really; nice to everyone but not really close. He keeps out of things mostly. He shared his umbrella with me once though.' And then he remembered the day they had come to the digital world. Rumours had already started up again. Different rumours really, although there had been one commenting on his lack of a blood-feast making him irritable.

'What?' Zoe gave him a curious look. There was something in her eyes, akin to helplessness. After all, she was now without spirit too.

'Well, he was acting different at school. The day before yesterday. One of the teachers even pulled him out of class, and then he ran from me after school. But he seemed different again here.'

They were all silent for a moment, before Tommy spoke up. 'Maybe it's none of our business,' he suggested. 'Something might have been bothering him, but if he doesn't want us to know or us following and poking our noses into his business, maybe we should just leave him.'

'But he could get hurt out there,' Takuya cried out, throwing his hands into the air.

'So could Koji,' the younger boy pointed out. 'Having a spirit seems to make us targets as much as it gives us protection.'

And that effectively ended the discussion.

'So we're going after Koji, Bokomon and Neemon?' Zoe checked. 'And then the Forest Terminal?'

'Yeah,' Takuya replied. 'I guess we don't have all that much of a choice. It's not like Koichi has a D-tector we can track him with.'

* * *

><p>It was at the edge of a very small cliff that Koji realised he had two tag-alongs.<p>

'What are you doing?' he asked, exasperated.

Neemon had the grace to grin sheepishly, but Bokomon showed no such inhibitions.

'We were curious about the message you received,' the white gnome digimon replied.

Scowling slightly, he turned away. Having them along really defeated the purpose of going by himself. 'Don't expect me to babysit,' he muttered, taking a step back…forgetting about the face that dropped off.

If anyone had the luxury of watching, they'd have watched the warrior of light tumbled into the rye field like a bouncing ball.

* * *

><p>Koji sat up with a groan, rubbing his head…before blinking in unrestrainable surprise as a very familiar laugh echoed above him. 'Quit that,' he snapped at Koichi's grinning face. 'So where were you anyway?'<p>

'I didn't think you cared,' the other replied, quickly morphing his face into a neutral expression, the previous hint of mirth gone.

'Hn,' the other muttered, turning away. 'I don't.'

'Good,' the other replied. 'Because you know what?'

Suddenly, the elder twin was in the younger's face again, smirking widely. 'I don't care either.'

And a blue hand shot out as the skin of Koichi Minamoto's form was cast aside to reveal a ragged looking white ghost.

Koji's eyes widened, but he hadn't trained for years in various martial arts for nothing, and he easily dodged both that and the follow-up strike, swiping the date circling his right hand into the D-tector in his left with the same fluid movement.

'Execute, Spirit Evolution! Lobomon!'

'Who is this guy?' he grumbled soonafter, figuring Bokomon was good for _something_ as he couldn't figure out why his slashes were only leaving a lawn-mover or a tractor without a job in the near future by cutting the rye down.

'Let's see…' There was the sound of flipping pages before the white gnome replied. 'He's Bakemon. A ghost type digimon. They're shape-shifters.'

'How about how to beat him?' The lupine gritted his teeth as he dodged another swipe.

'Well…' There was the sound of another page turning. 'Let's see. It's said that during ancient times, others used to focus the power of the mind through meditation and this in turn weakened the spirits of the Bakemon.'

'So we meditate?' Neemon asked, dropping into a mock-yoga position. 'Umm…'

'No you idiot!' Bokomon snapped the rabbit's waistband, ignoring the "oww" that ensured.

Koji ignored them, focusing his attention on the ghost digimon. 'How did you know to look like my brother?' he spat. 'Answer me.'

The spirit floated away. 'I thought you didn't care,' he reiterated, reaching out another blue hand to grab one of the sabres before the other came down upon his wrist to break the grip.

'My family business is none of your concern,' the other shot back. 'That's between him and me, and he understands perfectly what I meant.'

Bakemon smirked annoyingly. 'Who's to say I didn't eat him?' he taunted. 'And truth be told little boy, you don't know.' He changed his voice again to become a mockery of the boy he had mimicked. 'Koji doesn't care about me. He wishes he was an only child. He wishes I wasn't around.' His voice dripped back into its normal tone. 'It was very sweet actually.'

'Shoot your laser,' Bokomon spoke up, finally locating the appropriate passage in his book.

'You're lying,' Koji shot back, shooting the said laser beam…which went right through, leaving a small hole in the digimon's chest wherefrom the data began to unravel.

He summoned his D-tector. 'Fractal Code, Digitize.'

There was a sense of coldness in that voice. _No-one_ understood the relationship he had with his brother. And _no-one_ ridiculed them like that.

But those last few sentences had stuck.

* * *

><p>Takuya was still fuming when he threaded his way through the rye, the other four behind him. It was bad enough that one person had given them a slip, but four: two humans and two digimon.<p>

That was until he walked straight into a lump of rock.

'Oww,' he mumbled, before staring as the rock stood, revealing itself to be a digimon instead. 'What the heck?'

'You hit Grumblemon!' the other roared. 'You pay.'

The other three backed away and Takuya ducked as a hammer came down.

'Sheesh,' the boy yelled. 'It wasn't like I meant to walk into you!'

The "I take spirit" that came in reply was enough to make him whip out his D-tector. 'Execute, Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!'

The other two boys followed suit, and once again, Zoe cursed her powerlessness. She was finding out very quickly how JP had felt.

All she could do was watch them fight without knowledge. All they knew was that he was the legendary warrior of earth…and only that because he had bragged about it. Worse was when no-one could explain how he had suddenly gotten larger, tougher, and succeeded in punching Tommy out of the air hard enough to cause the boy to clutch his chest in pain, spirit escaping his body. In a small gulp, the digimon had taken the human spirit of ice and turned to face the two remaining warriors…before he was hit between the eyes with a laser.

'Is that Lobomon?' Zoe gasped aloud, from where she was crouched beside the young boy, helping him up.

'Looks like it,' Tommy blinked, managing a normal breath as the pain faded away. 'And he's leading that digimon away.'

'That doesn't mean I'm not going to punch the guy when I see him,' Takuya scowled, crossing his arms immediately after he devolved. 'Come on, we'd better follow.'

'At a safe distance,' JP added, following suit.

* * *

><p>Seriously, Koji grumbled to himself as he ran. He really had to stop making a habit of this. He couldn't take a guy who looked like a rock and was, according to Bokomon, the beast warrior of earth (they'd found the page by the fire the previous night, just before the nightmare mess). And he was apparently out of his league, because his sabres might as well have been nails scratching and the lasers even more useless.<p>

He stopped upon the rocks of the ravine, when he had the help of gravity along with his power. But even that hadn't proved to be enough, and despite the other being slow and powerless against his speed, he soon enough found himself falling into the crack of the earth.

And then the giant lug was jumping over him, scanning the canyon as if looking for a prey that wasn't there.

* * *

><p>'Some hero you turned out to be,' the Gotsumon, who to his shame had rescued him, scoffed.<p>

Koji scowled right back, fingering the hard biscuit he'd been given. 'I was handling myself just fine.'

'Sure you were,' the other said sceptically. 'You were unconscious at the bottom of a ravine, and if it wasn't for me, you'd be dead.' He stood, mirror around his neck swinging like a pendulum. 'I'll get rid of that fool on my own.'

'He's going to get us all killed,' the other Gotsumon murmured. 'Impudent child.'

For Koji, the other reminded him a little of himself.

Impudent child indeed. Running off on his own. He'd been going after his own beast spirit, and extended to that, his destiny. But what good was the beast spirit, except to fight with?

His eyes narrowed as he glared at nothing. Just what sort of battle was he fighting anyway? Why was he trying to save the Digital World he barely knew?

Maybe because it felt like it had given him more than the other world, their home world, ever had. And it wasn't just the spirit. He'd seen the fire; he'd followed it, knowing full well fire meant people. It was highly unlikely it meant digimon. Here he was, always worrying about his brother (even if he was constantly frustrated at the same time). Seriously, it seemed like Koichi had become more reckless. Who else went off on their own in the night? Although he had managed to avoid the Tapirmon…presumably.

For the first time in a long while, he wondered exactly what was going through his brother's head. And his own. Both of them were starting to act entirely out of character.

But as he thought a little more about it, it didn't seem so much out of character. After all, hadn't he always defended his brother from bullies when they were younger.

What had changed? What had happened to their relationship? What had driven them so far apart that they walked in opposite directions?

After a deep breath and another minute of thought, he climbed out of the cave as well. Bokomon and Neemon trailed behind him.

He had a feeling the kid Gotsumon wasn't going to fare any better than him.

* * *

><p>'What do you think you're doing?'<p>

'Saving the village.'

Well, stubborn as a rock was certainly taking on a new meaning.

'You can't fight that Gigasmon.'

'I can't do any worse than you.'

Okay, that just stung his pride, and he h'mphed and turned away, pulling out his D-tector. The white dot blinked just behind.

The Gotsumon eyed the device, before scoffing. 'Some Legendary Warrior you turned out to be.'

Bokomon and Neemon were oblivious to the "discussion", both of them attempting to read the inscription.

'I think it's about your beast spirit Koji,' the white gnome called.

In the time it took to come over, the rookie had disappeared into the ravine. Not even minutes later, a wave of seismic energy flew across the ground, rattling their teeth.

'He's going to find the Gotsumon,' Bokomon cried, watching Gigasmon follow his wave of energy and loom ever closer. It was true; in his eagerness to find whatever was in the ravine, the Gotsumon would not think to camouflage himself. 'You have to help him Koji.'

Wait…what?

'What?' he repeated out loud. 'Me?'

'Of course you.' The gnome sounded thoroughly exasperated with him. 'Who else is there?'

Who else indeed.

It was almost ironic that the role of the older brother getting his sibling out of trouble had fallen on his shoulders. He realised at that moment that he probably should have been more grateful to have Koichi around, who always got him out of the messes he got himself into (typically arguments with other people; how the other glossed it over was still a mystery to him). Why was this Gostumon making him think about his relationship with his brother?

It wasn't the Gotsomun, he realised after a brief pause. It was the Bakemon they'd bumped into in the rye field, however untrue those words may have been. It was those other four, how he'd so easily slipped into them; he was starting to miss them, he realised, and not just because he needed their help. He did though; he had to admit it. Probably like how he did need his brother to get through math with a good score. It was strange how he could easily learn patterns in martial arts but not the working out required to equate a simple algebraic sum.

That brought him back to why he had been so stubborn from not becoming too close to people. Why? He had a perfectly good family; he was lucky, all things considered. Sure, both their parents worked during the day, but they always got the weekends and the evenings together. And they were never short on anything…and their parents drew the line at spoiling them both too. They had boundaries that seemed perfectly reasonable now that he thought about it; the roles were different for them both because of their different needs. But it was also expectations.

As a legendary warrior, that Gotsumon had expected him to be able to easily defeat Gigasmon. But it was a human spirit against a beast spirit.

But it was better than a rookie against a hybrid. They'd beaten ultimates in their human forms after all.

'Execute, Spirit Evolution! Lobomon!'

* * *

><p>So he had saved the Gotsumon from getting killed and set him on solid ground, and done the favour (although he hadn't realised the significance of the action at the time) of putting the third eye in its place on what looked like a Bhuddist statue. In return, the Gotsumon had saved him that first time from a pounding, then held him off for a couple of minutes while he finished the other's work…and he'd received a beast spirit prompting Gotsumon to catch him before he went over the cliff with his opponent.<p>

That seemed like a rather fair trade-off in the end, once he has back on solid ground and breathing deeply as the other four humans ran up to him.

And Takuya made good on his promise to punch him.

'I won't do it again,' Koji said immediately.

'You'd better not of I'll-what?' Takuya cut his rant off mid-sentence. 'You mean you're sticking with us?'

Koji put a hand in his pocket, trying to sound nonchalant. 'Yeah, I guess so.'

'Ya-hoo!' the warrior of flame cheered, before staring at the Gotsumon. 'And who's this little guy?'

'I'm not little,' the Gotsumon grumbled.

'What made you change your mind?' It was JP, both the voice of reason and the frank voice to quell curiosity.

'Is that necessary?' Zoe, the voice of tact, asked.

'Well, I'd like to know what invented Mr Lonesome.' The warrior of thunder shrugged.

Koji mirrored the shrug. He still didn't know. 'When I figure it out, I'll tell you.'

None of them noticed the red eyes watching them, except Neemon who turned for some reason, his mind wandering up to Cloud 9…before he received a nasty shock.

'There are creepy red eyes starting at us!' he exclaimed, pointing to where he was sure he saw them.

The others turned quickly and looked, but found nothing.

'Are you sure you're not hallucinating?' Bokomon asked sceptically.

'I saw them,' Neemon asserted, but no-one else had seen the red eyes.


	13. A Future's Fortune

Author's Notes

Went with canon in the end. But next chapter it starts diverging again. Hope I didn't bore you all to tears with the minor relapse. :)

This chapter also marks the end of the first arc…if you want to split it into arcs.

And I wrote everything except for the first paragraph today (and since Friday's my long day in uni, it's somewhat rushed). So please excuse any stupid errors that ran in, and the fact that's it's shorter than the previous chapters. I cut down on the part that replicated episodes 11 and 12 of canon. One day I'll stop writing, and then I can edit my already published works.

The US merry go round comment was from Eden of the East.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 12<span>

A Future's Fortune

Following Bokomon's advice after Koji's slightly embarrassing tale regarding his beast spirit, they wound up in a Fortune Village. And all of them had different reactions once within its metaphorical gates. Neemon was thinking only of his spinning legs and not tripping over the extended appendages of his characteristic red pants; he'd been hit over the head by a Sepkimon and was now sprouting a kind bruise. JP was, as always, the sceptic; he was after all relatively proficient in the art of "magic" and knew well enough they were all ploys of the hand and the eye. Zoe, almost the opposite, was eager to hear what any fortune-teller had to say. Takuya and Tommy were leaning in favour of JP; the former was the sort that just went with the flow and the latter was simply following his role model. Bokomon was scandalised at the three boys, so much so that he didn't realise the last's opinion lay on much the same par as Zoe, if for different reasons.

It was to be expected then that they somehow got separated. A graceful Taomon had captured Zoe's attention early on and her brush was busy. Koji wasn't quite sure where the others were; he'd somehow managed to lose them. And he'd wondered into a dancing display with a digimon a passerby called Kuzuhamon – whatever else she was, she was a graceful mover and he could feel his cheeks growing warm as he turned away – before he realised the others weren't anywhere in close proximity.

It reminded him of how they, their family that was, sometimes went to the festival. They always went during the day to spare Koichi from fireworks, but sometimes Kousei would take the younger twin for a night trip so they could enjoy the midnight spectacle while their mother remained at home with the elder twin.

During the day though, everyone would disperse into the crowd…except Koichi who always clung to someone, if not always physically. It was rather annoying if their parents vanished into the Tunnel of Love, because that left him with the chore of keeping an eye on the other. He wanted to go on the fast rides; he honestly thought Koichi preferred the Merry Go Round. He never went into the Tunnel of Horrors either…although that had more to do with his PSE than anything else. Flashing lights were one of the first "frightening" things seen.

Once, Satomi told them about the Merry Go Rounds in the US. They had a little gold ring on them, that you could pick up as you passed (if you were fast enough) and it would earn you a free ride. Koji himself had scoffed at that, but Koichi had wished aloud that the Japanese ones had a similar ring.

'So you can ride it again?' The question was almost scathing, and he never had understood the look he had received in response.

'You look lost.'

In present time, Koji blinked at the digimon at his feet, looking like a fireball. Then he jumped back as the fireball split into three.

'Don't be afraid,' they said simultaneously.

'I'm not,' the boy growled as the triad began to dance around him.

'A customer for the Master. A customer for the Master.'

'Come,' the closest said, hopping away. 'The Master helps everyone who's lost.'

* * *

><p>The Master turned out to be an Ultimate Digimon called Mistymon, and those three fireballs DemiMeramon.<p>

'You look more like a knight than a fortune teller,' the warrior of light said bluntly.

'Indeed,' the blue and red clad warrior agreed. 'But looks can be deceiving. Knight though I may be, my chivalry has served me unfaithfully in the past and I am not akin to fighting the wars of other world. Instead I chose to simply provide guidance and hone my skills before my inevitable return to my own world, Witchenly. You'll find that many Wizard type digimon come from there, and are only in this world to develop in ways we cannot there. And you'll find that any stranger to this world ultimately goes through the same process.'

The silver sword shone as it caught the morning light, lying calmly on the inner side of the small tent. The flaps were only partially opened; it was enough to let in a small sliver of sun but not enough to let distractions wander in. The DemiMeramon provided the rest of the light, leaving the tent quite brightly lit.

'My DemiMeramon don't agree with everyone,' the Mistymon commented, following the other's gaze. 'They wouldn't with your brother for example, even if this world stemmed from the human world long before their illnesses purged it.'

That caught the other off guard. 'What do you mean?' Koji asked wearily. 'How do you know about my brother? I never said I have one.'

'Do you deny it?' the digimon asked calmly.

There was a pregnant pause before the human replied: 'No, I don't.'

'Then what's the problem?' And before giving Koji a chance to formulate a reply, the other pressed on. 'As I said, this world stemmed long before the concept of sickness came about, so even humans who carry a sickness with them from the human world will not feel its effects in this one.'

Koji's eyes focused on the table-leg. So there was nothing to worry about then. It wasn't like the real world at all, having to be careful about every little thing and he could still wind up getting run over on the streets because he had a seizure at the wrong moment. It was worrying and irritating and dragging all rolled into one. It was almost like waiting for something to happen, then brushing it over when it did. And that was what he largely did, he realised.

'That's physical illnesses,' the Mistymon elaborated. 'There's a fine difference between the illnesses of the mind and the illnesses of the body.'

'Excuse me?' What did that have to do with anything?

'Nothing,' the digimon answered. 'And yes, I saw the question formulate in your mind. But tell me, have you figured out your relationship with your brother yet? I believe that is the root of the problem.'

'If you know the answer, why are you asking me?' It wasn't quite a snap, but it was close.

'I want to hear you say it.' Not once had the tone varied from the level of tranquillity.

There was another pause, and then a quiet: 'no.'

'I think you have,' Mistymon mused, dusting a cloth aside and revealing a crystal ball that burnt with a small flame. 'Come. Look closely.'

The other gave him a wary glance, but seeing as the sword was propped up against the tent in plain sight, and in all honesty closer to him than to its owner, there was a degree less danger to fear. But he kept his hand firmly grasping the D-tector as he did as he was bid, slowly leaning forward in his chair till his nose was an inch from the glass.

Its image didn't change, even if it became clearer as his eyes slowly drew nearer to it. Fire swirled within the orb, little tails of flame twisting and whipping around within their confines, almost as if they were chained within the ball.

'Remember when your house was burning?'

Yeah, he remembered that. Particularly as he was staring at a ball of fire.

* * *

><p><em> 'C'mon Koichi,' he shouted through the smoke. The door hadn't fully closed; he'd burnt himself on the doorknob and abandoned the task. He hadn't even known then about the finer safety procedures; all he knew was to stop, drop and roll, but considering the flames were licking the carpet, it seemed like a pretty idiotic thing to do. But at that age neither of them really understood that the smoke <em>from _the fire was worse than the fire itself. It took a great deal less time to die of carbon dioxide inhalation and subsequent poisoning than it did from third degree burns…which were about as painful in retrospect or so he thought, never having died by either of those ways. He hadn't even gotten burnt than a slightly blistered finger from fingering a hot pot and he'd been out of the house before the level of smoke in his lungs had risen to a toxic level. Koichi had worse on both and on the same occasion; he'd thought the other had been right behind him. He _should _have been right behind him._

_But when his mother's scream alerted him to the other's absence and all three of them turned back to the house, he felt his insides freeze up. The first thought that flew through his head was Koichi was messing with them. He was faster after all, even if he normally didn't like to run. It wasn't fair, the younger twin would always grumble to himself. It wasn't like Koichi practiced being fast. Somehow he just naturally was. So it wasn't entirely foolhardy to assume the other had made it out and was simply praying a prank; even if it was unlikely for the boy to do the latter, it wasn't particularly unheard of. Not then anyway. He couldn't even remember the last time Koichi had played a prank on him anymore._

_But when even his normally calm father started showing signs of panic, his mind managed to process the fact that he'd just left his brother inside a burning building…and he started to shake in his mother's arms. _

_Later, when they were at the hospital standing by Koichi's bedside as the other slept without peace, a mix of guilt and annoyance ate at him. Why had Koichi been the one behind when he knew full well what could happen; he couldn't seriously have forgotten – not like _him_. He was faster; if he hadn't been following him they'd have made it out together. And auras weren't that instantaneous; part of him was frustrated that the other hadn't spoken out. Koichi rarely did, and what was worse was that he had lapsed into an even quieter persona after that fateful day. The doctor mused that it might be a simple change, or a psychological factor attributing, but there was nothing to be done except gentle encouragement._

_But he'd been in and out of sleep for days, and the other had been forced to wait by the side. And he'd tried to apologize once his brother could hold his consciousness for long enough, but the other had turned his head at the simple muttered "sorry" he'd received._

_He figured that was enough of the guilt. But still, time to time, especially when he heard the roughness that sometimes seized the other's voice, he'd feel guilty still._

* * *

><p>'So what?' Koji muttered, turning his head away.<p>

'Nothing,' the Mistymon replied calmly. 'Except it marks a turning point in your relationship, does it not?'

Silence.

'I suppose you could say that,' the warrior of light admitted finally, before snapping: 'Not that it's any of your business.'

He half stood before the DemiMeramon flashed above his head, forcing him down again.

'It's bad manners to leave before our business is over,' the Ultimate Digimon cautioned, folding his fingers over the crystal ball. 'But things aren't as plain as that. Your brother chooses not to speak so in consequence you choose not to ask. That simply leads to the formation of more barriers and more distance in relationships. And it's something you should mend before it's too late, because you can't make your brother take the initiative in this one if you do not yourself. But in theory that applies to all relationship: talking, taking down barriers. Perhaps an example closer to home would be more fitting: your four friends at Shamanmon's temple. Soon they, or one of your friends, will be needing your assistance. Or friendship I should perhaps say.

He stood abruptly, cloak tail whipping around him.

'And that concludes our business,' he said, suddenly brisk. 'The charge comes to-ah.' He broke himself off with a hint of a smile. 'I quite forget. Prices are paid in mysterious ways young warrior. I'll be seeing yours some time.' Then at a glance at the cash register sitting innocently by the flap, he added: 'No monetary charge.'

* * *

><p>It didn't take long after finding the temple to realise that his beast spirit adventure wasn't nearly as bad as Takuya's was turning out to be. It became obvious in a mere instant of the other devolving – they'd been left with no choice between the beast spirit of earth and Shamanmon himself who'd somehow used the spirit without control – into a rampaging dragon. It was rather a shame that Takuya, the warrior of fire, couldn't handle himself better than the fortune teller, but the good thing was he managed to scare of Gigasmon and smash the magic circle that was holding him paralysed before he decided to attack anything and everything in sight.<p>

It took quite a deal later, some fighting and a great deal of reasoning (where Tommy brightly shone) before the beast spirit fell under some sort of control and Takuya fell to his knees in front of an almost shattered rock. The journey henceforth had been dismally quiet and no-one had thought to shatter it, except Tommy for a few minutes as they stopped for a water break, and later, Gigasmon.

In the end, Takuya managed to get Tommy's stolen spirit back, along with the beast one that was causing them so much trouble. But to Zoe's outcry of dismay, hers was swallowed up again as Grumblemon took to flight.

'I guess we're on to the Forest Terminal again,' she said, somewhat sadly as she eyed the spot the other had vanished.

'I'm sorry,' Takuya said to her. 'I should have gotten yours before that beast spirit.'

'No you shouldn't,' the girl countered immediately. 'That spirit caused us enough grief.'

'And it'll be a lot easier to beat the pants of that guy now, right?' Tommy asked, grinning. He was in a peppy mood, both due to his success in talking down an out of control BurningGreymon and the result of his spirit.

'Well,' JP sighed, hands behind his head as he walked. 'I'm sure not looking forward to my beast spirit now.'

'Me neither,' the blonde agreed. 'But I'm sure I can handle it. I'm a girl after all.'

'Not this again,' the warrior of flame groaned. 'Is this the place where you're going to claim girls are mature and slap me again?'

'Huh?' Koji hadn't heard of that tale before, and the slip had caused a complete reminiscence of the events…and somehow Shamanmon's fortune as well.

'Hey,' JP said suddenly with a frown. 'Where were you anyway? We found Neemon later on, and Zoe, but you?'

'Oh?' A slight blush painted his cheeks from awkwardness. 'I bumped into a bunch of DemiMeramon and they kinda forced me to see their "Master".'

'How neat.' Zoe's voice wasn't as pepped as it normally was, but she still sounded interested. 'What fortune did they give?'

'None actually,' the warrior of light replied. 'More like advice.' Then, without a pause, he added: 'He told me to talk.'

'Talk?' Tommy repeated.

'Yeah…he said "no more secrets.".'

There was silence for the next few steps before Bokomon broke it. 'We're all listening.'

'We are?' Neemon asked, before earning a complimentary waistband snap. 'Oww….'

The entire group broke into giggles at that, including Koji. Hence why no-one noticed the red eyes watching them.

* * *

><p>'I make pay,' Grumblemon scowled, pacing along the length of the largest chamber within the Rose Morning Star.<p>

'Easy sugar,' Ranamon's southerly accented voice laughed as the water sprite herself swung out of a small pool of water, shaking off the excess droplets. 'We'll get 'em.'

'Indeed,' a new voice, Arbormon's, added, stepping out of the shadows. 'There is strength in numbers and weight after all. We've nine spirits between us. Them children possess only six.'

'Seven perhaps be a more accurate presumption,' Mercurymon's drawl corrected. 'I do not see Duskmon present in this little meeting. He hath no heart for battle; he chooses to stay with his darkness and the moon in his eyes.'

There was a laughter, and some noise of confusion.

'I'm surrounded by buffoons,' the Shakespearean mimic muttered to himself.

* * *

><p>'I trust you're thy journey proved to be successful?' To the outside observer, the question may have seemed innocent, but there was a hint of scorn buried under the words of the Warrior of Steel as he addressed his ally.<p>

Duskmon's red eyes regarded him without emotion. 'No,' was the simple reply he gave before vanishing from sight again. Whether a smirk or a frown followed him, he did not know and nor did her care.

The moon peaked out of the new night sky, staring down at him. It seemed so near, and yet so far away. A lot of things did suddenly, but it was easier, far easier, to not have to care about it all.

Below him, the world spread out with parts missing like Swiss cheese. It was remarkable how much more he'd learnt from the so-called "enemies" as opposed to the side that was good. For example, the actual function of the fractal code. And a certain prophecy which could essentially leave "good" leading the world to permanent ruin. It was almost ironic how they fought fate, but no-one said the fate of the world was permanent ruin. It just said the world would be destroyed.


	14. Clash of the Elements

Author's Notes

Yay, new readers. :) Mind you, the next few chapters are a tad annoying to write up…and during my busiest time of the semester too. Right before the exams. Hopefully I can get them done. They're not bad reading per say; it's just that that part of the plan is a little…unhelpful largely. It basically says "everyone gets their beast spirits" and that spans over a few chapters. Looks like four of them for now, but I might change my mind later as I'm writing.

Almost midnight now. Excuse any blaringly obvious errors. I'm heading off to bed after a long week. _Onami wa._

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 13<span>

Clash of the Elements

'So your brother is epileptic,' JP concluded aloud. 'That's much better than the whole vampire rumour.'

'Vampire?' they all repeated…even Koji surprisingly.

'You don't know?' Koichi's classmate asked, turning specifically to the younger twin before answering by enlarge. 'Eh, there's a whole bunch of rumours going around school, wondering why he never watches movies, stays out of the sun and all that.'

They all managed a few giggles at that, except Koji.

'Man,' Takuya sighed. 'I can't imagine never being able to play video games.'

'That's the thing,' Koji muttered. 'I'm pretty sure the Doctor said he can. He used to play with me when we were a lot younger; Mum would set up the anti-glare thing on the monitor and then we'd try to blow each other up – '

'Now there's an idea,' the elder of the two (one currently a stranger to the others). 'I'll tell Mum she needs to get a second controller so we can beat each other up on the screen instead of in real life.'

Everyone stared at him and he rubbed a sheepish mat into the back of his hair. 'Well, he does get rather annoying,' he confessed. 'He follows me around everywhere, always wants to do things I want to do and can be an overall pest and somehow manages to turn around and make my heart melt.' There was a pause as he further scratched his head. 'I think I need to work on that.'

'Right.' None of them pretended to understand; they didn't have little brothers, although both Koji and Tommy were them…although the former was a tad questionable due to the close proximities in age. After all, the fact that they were in two separate year levels was purely a chance concerning the timing of their birth on either side of Japan's cut-off date. If they had started school in Australia, the younger twin would have been in the same class as his brother; their cut-off date was at the _end_ of April. Somewhere else, he'd forgotten where, it was September.

'I didn't know about that,' Koji said, a little quietly. 'I doubt Mum and Dad did either; Koichi doesn't really mention anything personal about school. In fact, he probably talks the least out of all of us; it's normally Mum and Dad making small talk on the dinner table.' He folded his arms. 'I guess I never thought about that as a problem before. And then he frowned. 'When did I accept what others said so easily?'

Takuya cracked up at that. 'Instinct?' he offered. 'But it wasn't like you didn't have plenty of time to think about it.'

'…that's true.'

'At least we can see where you two were coming from,' Zoe offered after a small hiatus in the conversation, before grinning. 'Don't worry. You were a jerk, but we forgive you.'

They all laughed at the tone before jumping as Bokomon gave an exclamation and pointed at a sigh. 'Look!'

They looked.

'Forest Terminal,' Takuya read slowly, before sinking into the lush grass. 'Oh, finally.'

The others followed suit, except for Neemon who was sniffing at the air.

'What's that smell?' he asked, walking ahead a few paces. 'Ooh, food. I'm hungry.'

The rest of them were quickly back on their feet and following.

* * *

><p>The last leg of their journey was the most uneventful by far, although they did wind up having a meeting with a Deramon whose cooking skills were worse than (as he admitted aloud) Takuya's…and Koji's preliminary attempts, even though he refrained from saying it out loud…for a time. In the end, it slipped out when the other had displayed pride in his inability to be taught how to cook.<p>

The only other unusual thing that had occurred was their D-tectors opening up a path for them, straight up to the well-veiled castle…where they met with a solitude Gatekeeper who took his job seriously enough to almost skewer their heads before someone (none of them were sure how) had the sense to mention that a lady's voice on their D-tectors had sent them, _not _Cherubimon.

He let them in after that with apologies, and all of them got a glimpse of the end result of loneliness, but he brushed off any impending pity before it arrived.

'I have something to protect,' was all he said as he led them through a gleaming hall and to a crystal that hovered above a circular room made from crystal.

'This is Lord Seraphimon,' Sorcerymon introduced, gesturing at the being encased in the crystal. It reminded them of the Western fairytale of Snow White, who'd eaten a poisoned apple and slept at still as death till her lover's kiss awoke her from the deep slumber.

They all stared in awe at the Celestial Digimon…until their D-tectors beeped simultaneously. Before any of them had reached for the device, a voice familiar to one of them echoed across the room as if originating from the crystal finish itself.

'Let your light shine as one…'

'That's Ophanimon's voice!' Sorcerymon exclaimed, showing…if one dared to say it, joy.

_Ophanimon…_

At least now they knew who their mysterious benefactor was.

* * *

><p>Koichi, or Duskmon rather, didn't quite know why he continuously returned to the Chamber of Light. Light was, even in the Digital World where the physical effect thereof couldn't touch him, painful. The shadows, as they always were, were far more soothing, and unlike the claustrophobic atmosphere that had morphed from what had once been his comforting room, they took away the rest.<p>

The light brought it back. So what the heck was he doing there _again?_

The chamber was made from two things: light and mirrors. Both of which he…well, perhaps despised was an unnecessarily hard term. He didn't like the light for obvious reasons; the fact that his brother of all people possessed the spirit thereof seemed like both a curse and a blessing in disguise. With him having chosen the path of Darkness where there was no turning back, there was nothing that could drive them further apart than this world and its struggle at the edge of the abyss. As for the mirrors, there was several reasons for his distaste. Not only did they show the same face so warped while many cooed about how similar they looked – after all, they couldn't be more different if they consciously tried – but his own eyes had turned almost black in a matter of days. This was before he'd taken the spirits. He was in their form now. It was easier, more comforting. His thoughts were clearer; he could meld over the world without emotion getting in the way. Those feelings dulled into something far away.

Like that, he could go on living for quite a long time. Maybe he would; there was no rush after all. It was true the world tended towards disorder, but human action alone somewhat attempted to slow the process. And from what he'd heard, digimon were no different. They took, throughout their evolution, all the fallacies of their (perhaps unintentional) creators. But despite the new darkness that blanketed him, he knew that wouldn't be possible.

He was standing in the chamber of light, wasn't he? Within minutes, it reduced any defence he had to nothingness. There was no point holding a form that could not help him, and so he devolved before stepping further into the chamber.

Ophanimon, from far above, looked down at him.

'You've come again,' she commented softly, her tone somewhat sad. 'Why?'

'If I knew,' the other responded in equal quietness. 'I wouldn't be here.'

* * *

><p>Seraphimon's tale served to fill in some blank holes in their knowledge, but otherwise collaborated with Bokomon's story of the Ten Warriors…which was just as well, considering there would have been a distinct issue of trust if it had not.<p>

In any case, there was already an issue. The Celestial Digimon wanted them home, and none of them were willing to go.

'This isn't your war,' the angel explained. 'I can't defend this world and you children.'

'We've protected ourselves just fine,' Takuya protested. 'We saved _you_.'

'Yes, and I'm grateful for that,' Seraphimon said impatiently. 'But-'

'_And_ we're the Legendary Warriors.'

_What was Ophanimon thinking?_ The angel grumbled to himself as he massaged his forehead. _Bringing a group of stubborn children to the Digital World and guiding them to the spirits?_

He knew well though she only had the Digital World's survival in mind. They all did; they simply went about it in different ways.

* * *

><p>'Why did you choose to follow Cherubimon?' Ophanimon asked suddenly.<p>

'You've asked me that before.' There was a dim shadow cast by her cage and he stood in it, right below the apex of the heart. It was the one place that was remotely safe, but his body still trembled without his violation. It was little comfort to know he wouldn't collapse from a seizure right then and there. Perhaps that would be better; the waiting was going to kill him one day.

He knew at that moment that there was no way he'd ever be able to wait that long. It really was impossible…for him anyway. No matter what the surroundings, or the circumstance.

'You never replied,' the angel replied, looking upon the shadow too. The child's aura was clouded, as were his eyes. One could easily conclude from that that the entire soul, or spirit, was darkened in a dense fog looming about. He carried that fog with him from his own world, and it had easily grown and festered. He'd fought it off for a time, but allowed it dominance in the end. But she knew better. Her dominion was life and love after all. While someone else could easily see his reasons as hatred, and death, she saw the opposite. But it was a fragile balance between the latter and her counterpart.

Koichi looked down. 'Because it's the easiest thing to do,' was his response. 'You're safe in your cage, but how long do you think you can watch the world around you shatter before it consumes you?'

'Not long,' the woman admitted. 'But isn't a one-sided war without hope.'

'It is,' the other disagreed, and she wasn't the right person to argue the point. If it did accomplish something, it would not be the outcome most favourable to all. Not only to her, or the Digital world, but a pair of brothers who'd gone almost as far apart as was possible.

In any case, he looked like he was preparing to bolt at any moment. His voice was flat, a monotone even, but his body shook. His fingers fidgeted. His eyes stayed their inherent clouded blue like the ocean sinking into its own depths.

'Nonetheless,' she said softly, and with sympathy. Her heart cried two-fold for such an image; for a sorrow she had helped along and for that which had existed long before she laid eyes on the drifting child. 'You've chosen your path. I pray you've made the right choice…'

The boy had evidently had enough and he retreated like the shadow he possessed. It was almost as if the word "choice" had set him off. It probably had, but what substitute could she use for it?

Nonetheless, she completed her statement to her empty chamber. '…for yourself and all whom you love, even though the path you've planted under your feet differs from the one you see stretching out in front of you.'

It was wrong, bringing innocent children with their own problems into a world that would fester that, but their survival had been at stake. She hadn't any choice.

* * *

><p>They had a half-second warning before the castle shook and crystal began to shatter around them, and that was only thanks to Sorcerymon.<p>

'They're here,' he managed before something hit the walls and the first shard fell.

But it was all the time the others needed to evolve…except for Zoe who still lacked her spirit.

'You give back spirit.'

Apparently, she wasn't the only one as Grumblemon burst through the door…and he had brought friends. One who looked familiar, two who did not.

'See?' the earth warrior said by enlarge. 'Me brought friends.'

There was the relief in knowing the fight was four on six with two beast spirits in their favour.

'Arbormon.'

'We've met,' JP scowled, glaring at the tree. Takuya glared too. Koji hadn't actually met the walking Arbor before, although his brother had.

'Ranamon.'

The blue water sprite giggled and waved. 'Ooh,' she trilled. 'These look like fun toys to play with.'

'Mercurymon.'

'Thy capability for introduction is only decreased by thy stature,' the walking collection of mirrors scowled…or so the lips indicated. There were no eyes or any other part of one's face to speak of.

For a moment, the nine legendary warriors (or conduits of such) faced off, with one notably absent on both fronts. One human, for all five remembered Koichi. One digimon too, but they weren't sure which side the currently unseen Warrior of Darkness stood upon.

They had discussed it though. Most of the time, darkness never meant anything good. The odds that it would be a spirit on their side were pretty slim, but that also meant, as Tommy had pointed out, that it reduced Koichi's chances of finding a spirit and getting home to almost zero. After all, he had no D-tector to speak of either as far as they knew. And of all ten warrior spirits were accounted for, what was left? The only possibility was if one of Cherubimon's corrupted spirits belonged to him, in which case the boy would have been better off with them.

Koji in particular was starting to worry. Really worry, because they'd never been apart for so long, and not only that, but his brother was wandering around a dangerous world with no defence. He couldn't help but slowly think that his brother leaving the group was prompted by his own arrival on the scene; hadn't he shunned the other in their last encounters? The guilt festered, but they'd had a destination, and he'd hoped Koichi would meet up with them. He knew where they had all been heading after all, even if he had claimed to diverge his path. Part of him hoped he would change his mind.

A far smaller part realised he might be happier in this world, where the light couldn't drive his body separate from his mind.

* * *

><p>For a moment, it looked as though they had failed. Sorcerymon had lost his wand and was badly wounded, unable to continue. The legendary warriors, save Zoe, were all bearing the wounds of battle and were devolved. Mercurymon was shining like the day he was born. The rest of Cherubimon's warriors were somewhere in between, leaning towards the "perfectly alright" end of the spectrum.<p>

And Seraphimon…had been hit with a reflected version of his own attack and reduced to a digi-egg as Mercurymon scanned the data.

'But-but-' Neemon stuttered, hiding behind a particularly large clump of crystal.

'No!' Sorcerymon sank to the ground. 'Our last hope is gone.'

'No!' Unlike the previous cry of despair, Zoe's was filled with pure stubbornness and purpose as she caught the fallen egg. 'If we have his digi-egg, it can hatch again.'

'Yes.' The wizard's eyes rose with hope. 'WE need to get that egg to Ophanimon. It contains the last of our hope.'

But Zoe was being flanked by the four warriors, and none of them were in any condition to help her. All they could do was cheer her on – and watch in horror as a red laser suddenly hit her feet and she tripped. Where the egg bounced off to, none of them saw. Presumably it got swallowed up in the blast because the dual waves of horror…none of them had ever heard anything akin to it before.

'So the Prince of Darkness finally decides to grace us all with thy presence,' Mercurymon commented, somewhat mockingly. 'I hope this endeavour does not involve thy stealing our hard-earned credit.'

'If you mean the spoils you take by letting others do the menial labour and striking with the iron burns,' the other replied with a far more chilling coldness. 'I wouldn't dream of it.'

During the brief exchange, the boys managed to pick Zoe up and set her upon her feet. The green eyes anxiously scanned the debris for any sign of the egg, wincing slightly as she put weight on her right foot.

'Is it a sprain?' Takuya asked.

'I don't know,' the blonde replied, distractedly. 'It doesn't matter anyway.'

'You must leave,' Sorcorymon interjected. 'I will hold them off.'

'You can't,' they protested, but when the fists flew at them again, they realised they had no choice. Perhaps they could manage another digivolution, but with another joining their ranks (and validating their earlier hypothesis), they stood no chance at all.

In the end, they ran with the castle crumbling about them, right into the back of a Trailmon and bringing a heap of debris along with them.

* * *

><p>'We follow,' Grumblemon shouted, but Sorcerymon barred his way. Without his wand, his attacks were severly weakened, but both he and the castle had a few more tricks up their sleeves.<p>

'Not so fast sugar,' Ranamon trilled, aiming a stream of water that was quickly dodged before a punch was parried with some greater difficulty. 'Oh, shoot.' The sprite didn't seem worried though.

Duskmon turned without a sound and passed through the back wall.

'Where art thou heading to?'

Duskmon turned back, the mark upon his cheek glaring in the sparkling light of the shattered castle. 'I have no desire to waste my time here,' he replied cooly, before passing into the next room.

The noise followed him, but everything else faded into a bubble. This particular room was untouched from the chaos adjourning it. There was nothing notable save the centre display, a replica of the three Great Angels in crystal form, shining with digicode.

He reached a hand and touched it gently, and it responded, trilling like a bird singing in the breeze.

His lips parted slightly, before pressing together. The next touch was far more firm, and more purposeful.

* * *

><p>Sorcerymon knew the instance the one Mercurymon had called "Prince of Darkness" passed through the wall towards the fractal code for the castle that both his time and that of the place he had sworn to protect were drawing to a close.<p>

He simply hoped the children had made it out. Now, they truly were the last hope of the Digital World.

The other thing he found himself hoping, when his world was engulfed by white, was that Seraphimon's digiegg had somehow survived. After all, they hadn't seen it. Possibly it had buried itself into the debris. Hopefully the children had found that too; if all three angels fell, who would guide the children on their noble quest?


	15. A Cannon of Thunderbolts

Author's Notes

Sorry for the long wait. I forgot to mention that exams were coming up, so basically I was doing in those few weeks was running through my backlog while writing at snail speed. And it just so happened my backlog for this consisted of two lines.

But I'm done with exams. Finally. Way behind on updates though. Trying to catch up. Baby steps, so things might be a couple of days late for now. I'm trying though, so please just bear with me for a week or so…or however long it takes to screw my head back on again. I think that was my hardest semester. Word of advice. Try not to do anatomy and biochemistry at once. They're about as different as can be, and when you have them so close to each other with another exam in between with high memorization – well, my brain boycotted. I only managed three sentences in as many hours yesterday, creative writing wise. So sorry if this sucks.

NOTE: Sun in Arabic and Japanese is both masculine, so I'm going with that. Not sure about English, but this is an anime after all.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 14<span>

A Canon of Thunderbolts

The Trailmon whistled as he sped along the tracks, rather at ease despite the situation he had left behind. His passengers however were a different story.

Both Koji and Takuya clung to the sides, having been unable to climb safely into the carriage due to the time constraint. JP was at the foremost; any outsider would assume he was acting as a bit of a plug, and they may be correct. Zoe was on her hands and knees, clutching the floor as her eyes raked the debris for something. _Anything_. The green orbs had previously been fixated upon the receding castle, but they had long since shifted from that vigil.

'What are you looking for?' Tommy asked, somewhat buried amongst the debris. The warrior of thunder had essentially tossed him into the back when they'd arrived in a huddled group. None of them could deny to themselves that they had fled without looking back – even Zoe whose leg wasn't permanently injured after all – but that didn't settle the guilt over abandoning Seraphimon as they had. There had been little choice though; they'd barely made it out as it was before the castle crumbled into a stream of vanishing data. But a stifling atmosphere of floating dust had settled over them, save the Trailmon merrily whistling away. It was almost macabre in a way, the happy tune piercing through a fog of grey –

Or it was until Zoe shrieked at a volume loud enough to bust the eardrums of anyone under six years of age as she dove on top of Tommy.

Takuya would have fallen off his ride if Koji's fast reflexes hadn't caught him without comment.

'What the heck was that for?' JP yelled, having twisted awkwardly at the startle and was now wincing slightly at the discomfort.

'Seraphimon's egg!' the blonde cried while green eyes began to water, and indeed she was clutching something silver and gold within her grasp, looking as though not even the largest crow-bar in the world would be able to pry it from her grip.

The fog lifted. Just a bit.

* * *

><p>'Me follow them,' Grumblemon decided with a grunt before making good on his proclamation. Three of the four remaining warriors exchanged glances before Arbormon shrugged and followed.<p>

'Petulant fools,' Mercurymon sighed, dislodging the right mirror-shield from his arm before flipping the flat surface so it caught the sun. His reflection shone for a moment with blazing fire before the image faded, revealing instead a yellowed train speeding along its tracks.

The water sprite looked over his shoulder and giggled. 'This should be an interesting chase. Mayhap ah should 'ave went.'

'If thou had, milady,' the warrior of steel replied. 'It may have provided thee with an opportunity of farewell.'

'Oh?' The blue eyes widened in surprise.

Duskmon took a step closer, and his shadow loomed over the pair, effectively dimming the image. For a moment, the carmine eyes swept over the glass, and then he turned away, dragging the darkness of the surrounds with him.

'There is nothing left.' The words fell easily from his lips, making little sense to any who heard. Then he took one step, followed by a second…and by the third he had vanished into a black haze, and what remained of the castle with him.

* * *

><p>It looked like a pop-up from his picture-books from an age ago. He actually still owned them; every book he'd brought or been given since the age of three remained in his possession still. Most of the ones he'd outgrown were now in the basement; there was no space in his room. But there were a few, not regularly read, that still remained in the exalted position of his top bookshelf. His pop-up book of fairytales was one of them; it had been a present from his grandmother. But he couldn't even remember the last time he had looked at them. Or <em>wanted<em> to look at them.

The data glowed upon his palm, threads of blue dancing upon his fingertips. The castle still maintained its general shape; it really was something out of a fairytale, with its glass towers rising into the sky till it pierced the sun through its heart and the innocent face it projected. It was a child's play-castle, and how easy it had been to crumble it all. Now it sat upon the top of his palm, and within a minute, that light too faded as the data settled.

There were two digimon gone. Dead. Five children and two more digimon had fled in panic. For now they lived, and they would pass the next ordeal as well; he was sure of that. Grumblemon was a bother, but he was far from a potential threat, and Arbormon's roots lay in his cowardliness.

The truth was that he saw a lot more from the shadows than they anticipated. It was like mapping out a fully encompassing blueprint…and that was what he was doing of a sorts, piercing things slowly together. It was a game, or a balancing act. A race against nothing and everything, where only one would be the winner – except there could never be _one_ winner. They were in a war after all. One that was theirs to fight and not. Like the castle that had risen from the forest and crumbled into the palm of a gauntleted hand, a new world with a multitude of possibilities had quickly degraded into a spider's web that entrapped them all. Perhaps they didn't see it. Perhaps they did. It didn't really matter. They fought on their path and he fought for his. Perhaps if the circumstances were different – but no.

He closed his fist and the data vanished. Here, the shadows clung to him beneath the gnarled tree and its lifeless branches stretching to the sky. They could fight for the smaller battles. Once, he could to…but no longer. In the distance, the light of the Rose Morning Star shone in the sky, bringing with it the echoes of pain and fear…and death.

No. There were no small battles to be won.

He turned and left with even strides, the light fading upon his back.

* * *

><p>They were within a cave. And they were trapped. Only one way out, and the Trailmon had just passed through it.<p>

'Some escape plan,' JP sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he looked around. Torrents of ice and earth rose up, holding the roof high above their heads. 'We're sitting ducks in here.'

'Maybe they went down the other passage,' Tommy offered.

'Wishful thinking buddy. Wishful thinking.'

'Hey,' Takuya protested from the other side of the wall, past Zoe and the digimon egg she held. 'That's my line.'

'I didn't see you put a copyright on it,' Koji muttered from beside him.

'You-'

'Boys!' Zoe snapped, before sighing. 'Why do I feel like a mother?'

* * *

><p>The water rippled stoutly as heavy feet trampled upon the surface, following the tracks. They had yet to diverge or give way to any information, and by the step the earth warrior's impatience grew.<p>

'Where them children?' he grumbled to himself, stopping at a fork.

Arbormon paused behind him, before setting down a corridor.

'You sure that right way?'

'I just follow the path of least resistance.'

'Right.' A pause. 'You make no sense.'

* * *

><p>The walls of the cave suddenly shook.<p>

'Wha-what's going on?' Takuya managed, balancing himself before leaping down. JP, who was also on higher ground, wasn't so lucky and fell onto the rocks as a wave of water washed over the group. The aftermath left them all coughing and backing away from a second wave.

'What is that?' Tommy gaped, staring at the large whale that suddenly appeared, thrashing amidst what remained of the lake within the cave.

'That would be a Whamon,' Bokomon replied after a brief consultation with his book.

Neemon scratched his chin. 'Aren't they supposed to be in oceans?'

'Dimwit,' the white gnome replied. 'Obviously, he somehow got trapped here. From all the disappearing Fractal Code, I'd imagine.'

Koji scowled slightly as the Whamon continued its insane thrashing. 'Hey.' He raised his voice. 'Stop acting like a baby and get a grip. This childish tantrum's not going to help anyone.'

Zoe stared at the warrior of light, one hand still wrapped around the egg in a motherly-hen sort of fashion and the other helping JP. 'He certainly has a way with words,' she muttered, before shaking her head.

The Whamon, surprisingly, stopped its fit. 'Uhh…' He sounded somewhat like a scolded child. 'I'll stop.'

Koji stood up and crossed his hands. 'Good.'

Zoe couldn't help but snicker at the scene, causing every male in the room to look at her. Except perhaps the egg, but could eggs even be divided into genders before hatching?

* * *

><p>With each step, the darkness grew. The trees grew dimmer, croaking and trembling as they threatened to cave upon their own weight. The world was dying; that much was obvious. Oh, there were patches of life to be seen. The sun gleaming on faraway continents. The wind that had caressed his face with its gentle fingers. The shade creeping across fleshed boughs. But how long would they last? He'd walked through this very same path a week or so ago (or had it been longer? Shorter? He wasn't sure) and it had been full of life at that point. Now, the only thing living there was him. <em>Living<em>. Not alive.

And the sun was far away, winking from the face of another continent. Soon, he would abandon them as well.

With each step, more leaf litter and soil crumbled into grey.

There was no Fractal Code to sustain it any longer.

A miserable, abandoned place.

He closed his eyes, feeling the painful tug of his heart before lifting his sword. Within minutes, there was only the Trailmon track he walked upon.

The shadow too vanished in haste.

* * *

><p>'Right.' Takuya nodded. 'So Grumblemon stole the data for your area and now you're stuck here. Man, that sucks.'<p>

'Sure does,' JP agreed, standing with a bit of a wince. 'I'm fine,' he added at the concerned looks he received. 'But does anyone hear that?'

'I think that's my stomach.' Whamon looked embarrassed. 'Being stuck in a cave and all.'

But Koji was frowning. 'No, it's something el-' He was cut off as the cave shook again.

'There you be.'

Grumblemon had found them after all.

Zoe automatically clutched the egg in both hands, giving the pair of Cherubimon's warriors a fierce glare. 'Give me back my spirit.'

'You give me mine.'

She huffed. 'I don't have it, and you wouldn't have lost yours if you hadn't stolen mine first.'

'You know,' Takuya whispered in Koji's ear, the latter rolling his eyes at the next statement. 'I'm glad she doesn't have her spirit right now.'

'What was that?' the blonde roared.

'Let's just take care of them,' JP hurriedly intervened, before wincing. 'I'm okay,' he added hurriedly, pulling out his D-tector and ignoring the sceptical look he received in return. 'Seriously.'

'If you say so.'

The boys dug out theirs as well.

'Execute, Spirit Evolution!'

'That no scare me,' Grumbemon scowled, swinging his hammer as Lobomon appeared out of a cocoon of data and parried the blow with his own Kendo swords. Kumamon leapt into the fray to assist as Agunimon and Beetlmon teamed up against Arbormon's swinging fists.

* * *

><p>The Trailmon tracks seemed to go on forever. For a moment, he wondered why he even chose to follow them. Cherubimon would be wanting the data…not that he cared about that. He wasn't on Cherubimon's side and all concerned knew the fact. Even if he had been following Koji, he could rationalise it. But instead, he was walking to the edge of the world.<p>

Or so it felt.

* * *

><p>The battle should have been in their favour. It was four on two, and two beast spirits to one. So why were they all losing? Even with JP slightly impaired – he'd been the first to fall out – they should have had no trouble in handling two wayward warriors. But instead, both beast spirits had wound up crushed under Petaldramon's heels, and Tommy's ice had been pretty much shattered into oblivion as he lay in the now shallow water, groaning and devolved. Whamon remained, but his attacks were useless. There was little water left for a sonic to travel.<p>

Zoe, safely hidden behind a torrent of rock, clutched the rock she held as she gritted her teeth. Never had she felt so helpless. None of them could fight. Tommy was near unconsciousness. JP was hurt. Both Takuya and Koji were crushed under the weight of heavy feet. And Whamon, poor Whamon, was drowning in his little puddle when he should have been out in an ocean, swimming to his heart's content. It was cruel. Cruel and desponding…because she did not have her spirit, and was thus utterly useless.

Then she gaped as JP stood back up.

'What do you think you're doing?' she yelled, despite herself.

'I have to-' The warrior of thunder cut himself off as pain dashed across his face. 'There's no-one else.'

Grumblemon readied his hammer again. 'Me pound you.'

'No you won't.' And he pulled out his D-tector again, before dropping it with a grimace.

'Stop trying to play the hero,' Zoe roared, almost dropping the egg…before reconsidering. Considering how badly Cherubimon's warriors had seemed to want it, it may be a better idea to keep it out of sight. 'You idiot. You're just going to get yourself hurt.'

'It's not about that,' JP responded, the epitome of calm. 'This isn't about any of that. Not trying to fit somewhere. Not trying to be something. Right now, I'm just the only one who _can_.'

And Whamon cried again, opening his jaws wide.

Something glistened in those depths, before the entire cavern exploded with light.

* * *

><p>It was light. It was strength. It was power. It zapped amidst his fingertips. It surged through his back. It blasted everything around. That cave above his head. That roaring in his ears.<p>

But it was being attracted to something. Collaborating somewhere. Repelling from something else.

His mind cleared, and the last blast was aimed at the centre of the target.

* * *

><p>When the new beast-warrior of thunder began blasting balls of thunder in random directions, the thought that they might have been safer before the evolution passed to each of Ophanimon's warriors' minds. All of them were reminded about the "Takuya" incident…so it was a duex ex machina when the newly proclaimed MetalKabuterimon fired at Grumblemon…and only Grumblemon.<p>

'What?' The warrior of earth looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 'You fight them.'

'Sorry.' The reply was slightly disembodied, but unmistakingly JP's. 'The only one being fought is you.'

* * *

><p>Zoe was, understandably, over the moon upon the return of her spirit, so much so that she threw her hands around the now blushing teen and kissed him on the cheek.<p>

'Grazie,' she cheered. 'Grazie, grazie.'

JP grinned too, somewhat cheesily but content as he gazed at his beast spirit within the holding device…along with a new addition. The human warrior of Earth. Now, standing upon a continent that stretched forward with ice as Whamon waved them off in thanks, freed from the cavern after all the cannon – balls smashing into the roof, he realised he really had come a long way.

Particularly when Takuya slapped him on the back, making him stumble a few paces.

He _was_ bigger after all. He shouldn't be pushed around by an eleven year old.

So he pushed right back…accidently knocking the goggle-wearing brunette into Koji.

The remaining quartet didn't know whether to be amused or exasperated.


	16. Buried Under Snow Part 1

Author's Notes

Still trying to get updates back on track, and now Tuesday's back-log has run out as well. Not to mention Reynaud's syndrome has got my fingers purple (literally – I've got bandages on them). Worse this winter for some reason.

Okay, that paragraph above was written three weeks ago. And this was one of my favourite chapters, so I have absolutely no idea why it took so long to write up.

If the formatting is messed up, it's because I wrote this during my breaks at uni and forgot my USB, so I typed three quarters of this straight into the email because of lack of time. Unfortunately it doesn't understand my usual method of formatting.

And once again I've had to split the chapter because it was getting too long. Truthfully, I could have squished it into one…if I wanted it going over twenty pages, which I don't. Not very good readability – learnt that one from Identity. And it actually works better with its original plan of being two separate chapters. *sigh* so much for shortening it. Although I forgot the other title so it's back to Part 1/Part 2.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 15<span>

Buried Under Snow Part 1

'Thanks Whamon!'

The five children stood at the edge of the frozen terrain and waved goodbye to their newfound friend. It was a parting full of both sadness and joy, sadness because of the departure into a ransacked ocean which resembled more of a pond than anything else, and happiness because of the digimon responsible had finally been defeated, bringing a new hope.

Whamon lifted his flipper in a departing wave, before vanishing into the shallow and muddied "ocean". Once deep and crystal clear (or so they were told, having never seen the wonder themselves), it now resembled some of the lakes in some of the outer wards of Tokyo, tainted with pollution and lack of flowing rain. The debris, mud and waste collected, and the water became browned. The ones closer to the metropolitan were carefully cleaned; the outskirts were left to nature's hands, even when humans were somewhat responsible. Truthfully, the landslides played enough of a role to make their participation inconsequential, and any efforts of cleaning useless...but that didn't stop it from being a sad sight.

Worse, was the data that had been sucked out to achieve the same state in the digital world.

Interestingly, none of them thought to ponder about the land behind them. Not, at least, until a gust of wind cause Zoe to shiver and wish aloud her sleeves were a little longer.

Then she stared at Tommy and Takuya, both of which had short sleeves like her, but neither of which showed any signs of cold.

'You guys aren't cold?' JP stared oddly at the pair, then at Koji who had shoved his hands into his pockets again. 'Honestly Koji...'

'I'm cold.' Blue eyes glared.

'Right. But you really should break that habit.'

'Yeah,' Zoe agreed, teeth chattering as she hid her hands in the cloth of her sleeveless hood. 'You could do the same as me. It's probably warmer than the pockets.'

The warrior of light raised an eyebrow to the goosebumps crawling down her arms, before shrugging off her jacket.

'Huh?'

'Take it.'

'But-'

'Take it.'

'But-'

Koji stuffed the jacket into her hands.

'Err...thanks.'

'No problem.'

'But what about-'

Koji closed his eyes. 'We're not going to get any warmer just standing here.'

JP stared between the two, somewhat relieved Zoe seemed more focused on warming herself up than anything else. The rest of him wondered though why it was so important; if the rest of them had long sleeved jackets, no doubt they all would have offered them. The problem was, he supposed, that he was wearing a one piece jump suit, which left him reasonably weathered in any climate, but also with the inability to scramble or trade layers.

Funny, he had never thought of his clothes like that before. Maybe they too were a part of the old him.

'Anyone want chocolate?' he asked suddenly.

He got three eager (two from the digimon) and three odd looks in return.

Then Tommy grinned, a light-bulb going off in his brain. 'Chocolate always tastes better in the snow. Especially when it melts in your mouth. Or we have hot chocolate.'

'There's a city nearby,' Bokomon said, for once not consulting his book. 'They have a large heater.'

'Well, what are we waiting for then!' Takuya threw a fist into the air before setting off.

'Hold on Takuya-'

'What?'

JP held out a bar. 'Don't you want some?'

'Oh.' He laughed sheepishly, returning for a slab.

Zoe was just glad her shoes at least were closed. All theirs were in fact...except the digimon, and Neemon had closed _socks_ so they served the same function. As for Bokomon, apparently his white fur was relatively immune to the cold.

She still wished she was as unaffected as the warriors of ice and fire-

Oh. She grinned, before shaking her head. Of course they weren't cold. Tommy was in his element...and he looked it too. As for Takuya, perhaps the spirits of flame were like an internal furnace.

She supposed wind wasn't so much of a help on snowy terrains.

* * *

><p>His feet barely made a sound as he stepped over fallen leaves and broken branches. The last time he had passed that way, the foliage had been lively and green, flourishing even after being constantly battered by the Mushroomon. However, now it was dull and brown. If he couldn't see the little glimmer of light through the trees, he would have thought the place had been abandoned.<p>

Actually, "glimmer" wasn't an entirely accurate term. It was more an algorithm of shadows that informed him of movement and thus of life. The forest was dark; the sun was low on the horizon, the reminder of the night having passed in a slow walk. Detours had not taken him too far off the road; it wasn't a particularly difficult job to strip a forest of its trees, albeit it was tedious. It took a little more time to sort the data in his mind;he _was_ in a bit of a hurry in fact, to obtain the data before the rest of Cherubimon's warriors, but they rarely stepped out of the castle's boundaries at night.

It was laughable, truly. During the day they pillage the digital world, but they hide behind little holes as soon as the sun went down, leaving the world in darkness. He wondered what _they'd_ do once the world was gone and their aim achieved. Did they truly think the quest would end half-way? It truly was a childish notion.

He stopped at that thought. Wasn't _he_ a child? For a moment, he wondered exactly when he had starting to think like that - not like an adult, because they began towards the last steps to the prime of their life. Nor an old man, because they looked towards death after a list of their accomplishments had been lain out in front of them. In that note, he didn't really know which path he walked on. And it was a distantly horrifying thought that he didn't particularly care either.

Maybe it was because, unlike other children, he'd thought a lot about the possibility. He'd had a lot of scares, so much that they eventually dulled in significance. He could black out from an epileptic attack, and while his body still remembered the terror of losing all function, the trembling of the cold air and the fear of being alone; his mind sought to ignore the fact, to quell, bury it into the depths of his mind. Like that, death simply became a longer sleep; there was a slight sense of relief, because there was no possibility to awaking alone. If death truly was nothing, then it was no different from blacking out.

And there would be nothing. Just...nothing.

But that wasn't strictly true after all. The Digital World had changed that, in perhaps the cruellest way. Because whether the world was saved or destroyed, they could not stay. They may be data in a data-wrought world, but they were flesh and blood, constructs of protein. Their real forms remained trapped within the space-time continuum, within a boundary between the two dimensions - it had happened before; the accounts were quite detailed. The possibilities were somewhat speculated; they had saved the world, in the end, but the principles remained the same. They would not be able to stay; eventually, after whatever end, they would return to the human world.

And he _couldn't_ return to that. Not after this...experience. He was reluctant to call it freedom; in a sense, it had further chained him. In another sense, it had given him a taste of the things he had missed out on, always shut up inside, with his books and the stories captured within them. And to have, even for a hair-breath of time, really _interacted_ with people his own age after so long (he was distant at best with his classmates and when was the last time he had properly talked with his brother?)

But that was gone too. By his choice; most of him couldn't stand the sight of that nectar constantly dripping from the blooming flowers. It was more like a drug than anything else...or perhaps that wasn't the most accurate analogy, but it was the best he could come up with. It was something that tasted good, that _felt_ good, but it was worse than the forbidden fruit in terms of the aftertaste it left behind in his mouth.

* * *

><p>It was shocking at how fast the sunrise was. For a few minutes, the white dark snow became red with the fiery light washing over it from the horizon, and then it was just a brighter white, the yellow ball of light grinning from the end of their vision. They'd stopped walking when the ground beneath them had become bathed; they'd simply stood and watched the unusual phenomenon.<p>

When the sun had fully risen, they'd started walking again. Beautiful it may have been, but there was something foreboding about standing in a sea of red.

* * *

><p>He suddenly paused as laughter echoed through the trees. It wasn't taunting laughter by any means; that was very easy to ignore…or interrupt as it may. Of course, Mercurymon was useful in his own right, whatever his intentions, so he couldn't just as well scan the guy's spirits, but little Phantomon playing pranks on passer-byes were a different story altogether. Little innocent children who were blind to the world around them.<p>

How could they act so happy and carefree as the very world they lived in was stripped away? He just didn't understand it.

Nor was he given ample time to dwell on the matter in that instance as a small figure suddenly appeared through the trees and crashed into his leg.

'Oh…oh! Koichi.'

He looked down, then blinked.

Flora. It was Flora.

So…he was there. He still didn't have much of an idea as to _why_ he'd chosen such a destination. Was he really strong enough…or weak enough..?

'Yay, you came back.' The little Floramon danced in a semi-arc before attaching herself to his pant leg again. 'Come on, let's play – ' She cut herself off, face falling. 'You don't look like you want to play. Oh, I know.' She brightened again. 'Let's eat soup. I've started learning, so I'm not as good as everyone else, but I'm really trying. One day, I'll make the best soup in the whole wide world. Mama said so.'

For some reason, her words made him feel somewhat sad…and hollow. Here was a child, happy and carefree. Even happy to see him. Content to play with someone so different. Satisfied with a dream so straight-forward and within her reach, no doubt, with some hard world. _Able_ to dream of a future that would bring joy to her.

'Why are you crying?'

He hadn't realised he was, but at her words he lifted a hand to his eyes. A single salty drop came away.

* * *

><p>The remainder of their walk should have been easy. After all, they could see the heater Bokomon had mentioned to them, and the patch of colour in the white landscape. A little closer, and their shoes would begin to sink into the steaming snow, sucking up the liquid left behind from the heat.<p>

Of course, their lives simply couldn't be that easy. Although it was lost on them exactly which part of their little company was threatening the apparent guardian of the said heater. At least until they evolved of course.

'And I was looking forward to be nice and warm too,' Beetlemon complained, snapping htis wings to speed up their rhythm.

'So was I,' Lobomon muttered, wrapping an extra loop of scarf around his neck before readying his kendo sticks. 'What?' he asked to the odd looks he received in return.

'Nothing bud.' BurningGreymon shrugged it off, although he was grinning under the visor as he fired his blaster.

* * *

><p>The soup tasted bland on his tongue…which was rather unexpected as he had steeled himself for a ridiculous amount of spices after the smell first wafted through his nose. And it seemed his assumption hadn't been amiss as several Floramon and Mushroomon were spluttering into their bowls and reaching out for tall glasses of water.<p>

Or…their definition of glasses anyway. They looked more like some sort of flower, although which one it was, he couldn't place. Certainly not one native to Japan, and he was doubtful it belonged at all to Earth's flora. It wouldn't be all that surprising if it didn't; the Digital World was unusual that way.

Flora, rather persistently, sat next to him. 'Are you sad?' she asked suddenly.

'What makes you ask that?' Koichi answered absently, swirling his spoon in his dish.

'You're not hungry.' She gestured to the second bowl, the one brought by her mother. 'The Floramon soups are supposed to be irresistible…except for mine right now.' Her tone dimmed a little, before brightening. 'But I'll get better. I know I will. But you haven't touched Mama's soup. And her cooking is the _best_.'

He smiled slightly at that. 'I think we all see our mother's cooking as the best.'

'What does your mother look like?' The rookie digimon slid from her seat. Koichi wasn't sitting in one; it was easier to sit on the floor and it was reminiscent of the low table in their living room back home. 'Is she beautiful?'

Koichi thought a moment. 'Yeah…' he replied finally, and somewhat sadly. 'She's beautiful. And kind.'

'She must really worry about you a lot.' Big yellow eyes stared into his own slanted blue. He turned his face away; he didn't want to be looked at like that.

'I suppose she does.'

_What am I doing?_

The peppery smell continued to assault his nostrils, continued stinging his eyes. With a second spoonful, he knew exactly what had brought him there – and he wished he hadn't listened to his heart after all. He could have stayed content. He could have remained with the darkness to cloak him. He could have continued skimming the shadows, content to leave the depths where it belonged. He knew full well that contact would bring them out; it always did…and that contact always hurt.

Whether the wish was sincere or not, he couldn't tell. But he knew things would have been much easier without it.

A dark voice in the back of his mind whispered things would also have been a lot easier if he had never come to the Digital World. Sure, he'd had his spirits lifted for a time, but he'd fallen straight into that trap. After all, the higher one climbed, the farther it was to fall.

And fall they mus. _He_ must. In the end, it simply came down to how much of a tremor such a fall would cause.

'Koichi? Are you crying again?'

'No. No I'm not.'

But the moisture clinging to his lashes proved his statement false.


	17. Buried Under Snow Part 2

Author's Notes

I'm getting there…

Guess what. First climax's peak is approaching fast (as in next chapter. :)).

There was a cute little scene with Flora begging Koichi to let her come too, but it didn't quite fit so I took it out. Feel free to imagine though.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think. And since I didn't think anyone wanted to wait another week, I'm put this up today.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 16<span>

Buried Under Snow Part 2

Koichi watched Flora run off to help her parents. The Mushroomon were around as well; every Digimon pulled their weight to revitalise the garden that had once been their pride and joy. But few faces were smiling – Flora's was the brightest of them all. It was a hopeless endeavour in the end; the earth simply didn't have enough to provide. The water pooled as it slithered off leaves like a slim snake, creating muddied puddles within which single flowers sagged. On the surface it looked like they had been watered too much, but he was close enough to see their desperate need for such sustenance. The earth could simply not support them.

It was a depressing sight. Wilting hope.

'This sight…makes my heart very sad.'

The boy turned his head; the Elder had taken a seat beside him.

'Koichi…' The old female paused, before sighing. 'What you have come here to do…you should do it.'

His eyes froze. Something cold clutched at his heart for a moment – a moment where everything wavered.

'I-' he began, staring still at the efforts to salvage the last of their hope. The children showed no signs of giving up. Most of the adults too stumbled on, albeit with heavy hearts.

'They have nothing else they can do,' the Elder said quietly. 'The truth is, it's impossible to wait without hope.'

'You think Lucemon will win?' Koichi asked in a monotone.

'I think this world will be destroyed, whether by him or that defence,' the aged Floramon replied. 'We do this because there's nothing else we _can_ do; we cannot leave our homes – our hearts and souls are in this garden. Our roots have cemented here; as much as our hearts pain to continue on like this, we can do nothing. But you…'

'You want me to take the data,' Koichi replied, closing his eyes. There was no conviction in his voice as he spoke. He shouldn't want to…he didn't, really.

But the truth of it was, he didn't _not_ either…as ineloquent as it all was.

'Koichi…tell me. Why did you come _here_? You have brought me hope, but as for you…' She closed her own eyes. 'I think you will bring more pain to yourself…but you know that, don't you?'

The other nodded, face unchanging.

'You are tearing your heart apart Koichi.'

'I know it. But this is what I want.'

The Elder looked at him. 'Are you sure?'

* * *

><p>'What does a gorilla want with a heater anyway,' Takuya grumbled, flapping his wings to free the appendages from the thick layer of snow. The "gorilla" had decided to be clever and toss snow at the lot of them – followed up by axes slashed away by his blasters and Koji's kendo swords.<p>

Zoe had the misfortune of having neither benefits; Tommy at least had a single blaster and JP's armour was quite strong. But the poor Warrior of Wind was left with only a thin pair of gauntlets to protect her arms and a slightly thicker garb to cover her body. So she was getting the worst of the hits…when they hit. Agile as she was, she managed to avoid a good many.

Problem was, that was all she was accomplishing. Takuya was probably doing the best, but it hadn't done a terribly good job at slowing the gorilla down.

And, of course, it was not affected what-so-ever by the cold.

* * *

><p>Koichi's hands were coated in dirt. The pale skin was dusted grey, and he wondered wryly whether they would ever veer from the monochrome gradient they seemed to have adapted: black to white to grey…it was rather amusing, now that he thought about it. Amusing in a rather morbid sense; he had always been on the pale sight, avoiding the sun as he did, but it only worsened with age…or comparison.<p>

'You don't have to do this,' the Elder's voice said softly by his elbow.

The human paused from where he had been petting a flower into its bed.

'I want to,' he said quietly, the barest hint of conviction behind his tone.

'Why?' the Floramon asked in the same tone.

She reminded him of his grandmother in a way, that gentle coaxing. Like when she would find him studying some textbook too advanced for most people his age, or quietly working on brain puzzles while the sun shone outside.

The answer was always the same.

'I have to.'

So was the response he received.

'No. You don't.'

Koichi lifted a hand, ridges of his fingers clogged with the fine granules of soil. It was…odd, seeing them so dirty.

'I don't,' he parroted, continuing with the self-appointed task.

'Do you feel you have to?'

The topsoil ran smoothly beneath his hands.

'No,' he admitted finally, letting the fine pieces run through his fingers. The right hand automatically dropped.

'Then you want to,' the Elder surmised.

Koichi finally looked up, slowly processing the logic. 'That makes sense,' he murmured, carefully dissecting every cell of his hand. 'But it goes against what I wish for.'

The Floramon watched sadly as the hands dirtied themselves amidst the soil again. There was a gentleness to them that even her children lacked, a certain finesse that gave him natural disposition towards the task. A green thumb they called it back in the human world. And perhaps it was an accurate term; she could glimpse, quite faintly, a tiny dot of light in each eye within the shadows that so thoroughly clouded them.

'You can find,' she said eventually, her voice calm and controlled as though she were counselling one of her own. 'That all wishes inevitably go hand in hand.'

She knew well. Digimon took after humans after all. They were born from that which was let go. Dreams, aspirations…innocence.

That little Flora running happy and ignorant should have been him. That boy who walked a path into a darkness of no return was simply what was left, once the innocent _living_ child was extracted, and the twin who symbolised his yang.

That was one aspect of humanity which Digimon did not understand. They had nothing like twins; the closest thing was the spirits of darkness and light, but it seemed even they missed the mark when it came to the Minamoto twins. Or perhaps, it was because, a soul stretched between them and still incomplete upon the living plane, the spirit of darkness still partway slept.

A shadow of that darkness is what existed in the D-tector. And a weaker version of light is what walked upon the world.

She, as the Elder, was old and wise. He was still a child deep down…even if he was far closer to death than any child should be.

But even those who were dead had a tendril tied to life. Something they loved. Something they enjoyed, could lose themselves in no matter what anyone else told them.

'You don't have to do this.'

'I _want _to.' A slightly stronger conviction.

The smile on her lips was bittersweet. 'It will be a waste…in the end.'

The hands froze, then shook as they withdrew from the planted flower and reached for the watering can.

'I had half-expected you to explode in tears.' There was nothing light-hearted about the words, nor the tone they were said in.

Koichi's eyes lowered till they vanished beneath his bangs. He'd never looked quite his age; his body was smaller than most twelve year olds from lack of sufficient sunlight and exercise, but his eyes and form were always more mature.

'It wouldn't change anything,' he whispered, and for a moment it sounded like he was crying. But when young Flora appeared to yank the watering can from him, it was revealed to their village that his eyes were dry.

'When?' the Elder asked simply, and Flora blinked at the two.

The silence that responded was enough to make a feather dropping resonate with enough force to blast a human's eardrums off the scale.

* * *

><p>Takuya stepped back and a twig snapped. For a moment, warning bells zapped through his mind – why was there a twig in the middle of a spread of snow – and then the snow was being thrown up onto the air as an elongated creature slammed into the middle of the gorilla's torso.<p>

At the same time, a combination of ice, wind, thunder and light hit its mark and data appeared. But the odd creature, somewhat like a chameleon and yet not, reared upon its hind legs to snatch the spirit that appeared.

Tommy, little Tommy, jumped higher than the strange digimon. Higher than them all.

In later hours, it would become obvious why, but in that moment, it was instinct and instinct alone that caused him to reach past the one who had interrupted them, reach for the spirit which glimmered in the snow sun.

Within seconds, the warm snow enveloped him entirely and he _grew_.

* * *

><p>When? When was he going to scan their data and leave their village with nothing? Take their lives as they toiled upon the very soil that gave them their home? The same soil that lay dying beneath their feet, no matter how hard they tried to revitalise it.<p>

He hadn't expected the question. He hadn't really expected _anything_ – he hadn't even intended to wind up _here_ of all places. He still wasn't quite sure why he still remained; he should be anywhere but, watching digimon he'd actually gotten somewhat attached to. Digimon he'd been happy with, that he still didn't want to leave…

And hence why he was still there, digging aimlessly in dirt, knowing it was futile but unable to bring himself to abandon the endeavour.

But his hands were trembling. And he was well aware of it. Shadows were one thing – little beings flittering at the edge of his vision – he could pretend they didn't exist, that the land was barren and dry like the lead he erased from his drawings. The imprints remained behind.

He wasn't deluding himself. He knew exactly what he was doing, but it easier, far easier, to bury it all. Maybe that was why the dirt had initially felt so cool beneath his hands.

Now it was rough and coarse. Burning almost.

And all he knew was he didn't want to be here – but he did.

* * *

><p>The Elder Floramon looked silently at the boy who knelt in the dirt. Flora had come and gone; her mother had called the young Rookie away so it was just the two of them within hearing range. If one chose to redraw the barriers of the world, only the two of them would exist in her current one.<p>

When she realised the other was not going to answer the question – even banish any initial thoughts that had stumbled across, she rephrased it.

'Why did you come here Koichi? To our village?'

Only the air around them moved, following its natural, perturbed current.

'I-I don't know,' the human replied eventually. 'I just wound up here.'

'And yet, you haven't left. So your subconsciousness must have brought you here for a reason.'

Dark blue eyes never left the soil. Never stopped attempting to break it down, to take in each miniscule crevice in its , if he kept his eyes open long enough…

But wasn't that the last thing he wanted?

'Koichi…is this place important to you?'

A tear fell by his dirt-stained hands only to be greedily sucked in by the soil.

'Y-yes.' And his voice trembled. Shook. An impure hand came to rub the salty waters away before they poured.

'And what if I told you we want this cycle to end?' The Elder lifted a petal, gesturing at the aimless toils. They'd done it far too often. Far too long. 'In reality, very few digimon want this world to continue as it is. Most would rather sleep within the fractal code till its revival, even if they refuse to admit it out loud and you know it.'

An almost silent 'I know' validated the statement.

'But it's cruel. Crueller when you're the one that's left behind.' The soft weight of petals touched his hands as the Elder came closer. 'We chose to hope for a future; we cling to the present because that is all we _can_ do, but you – ' A hand came up to tenderly wipe away the tear. 'You are working towards that future, where a world can be happy without you. And for that you must. And for us to stop this cycle, we must ask the same of you –'

But before that, she let the other break down and cry. Such circumstances always marked a pivot point, and it was especially ironic for it to take place within a dying garden. For she really did understand; she wasn't sure how, but she did. This boy was dying, inside and out, and he chose to kill himself both for himself and the world. So he wouldn't have to suffer the prolonged waiting – but his eyes told he'd already suffered it, or at least in part. But like all gardens of Eden, a brief taste is all that is needed to make bitter all other fruit. And for others…so they could go on without him; live…and grow. Especially the brother he both envied and loved. A brother with which he'd subconsciously built a rift between – a joint effort; she wondered if _he_ realised to some degree, and who would eventually win the subconscious battle about to come forth into reality?

_I'm seeing you down a path you shouldn't have to walk…._ she thought to herself, roots clinging to the earth even now as the petals rose in comfort. For he was a child. But she shouldn't be so surprised; it was the children who could accomplish the world; the realm of possibility began to shrink after adolescence passed. _Nor should you walk. But I hope it's enough to make you turn away before the end._

She did hope. And she sent that silent hope into the wind with a last spray of pollen. Pollen that would settle upon empty space as the data began to flee.

* * *

><p>He saw snow. He heard snow. He felt snow. He breathed snow. He <em>was<em> snow.

But he was also Tommy Himi. And unlike the others, Koji and Takuya, he had _seen_. And he could hear, blinded as he was by the brief white. Hear fighting: screams and shouts as attacks were yelled into the cold air –

He heard the sway of branches, old and seized by frost. Frost that curled upon its roots, within its branches and the network of life within its heavy form. And that metaphorical frost clinging to its rotted soul; it was sad, in a sense, that he clung to driftwood attempting to rise upstream and finally to the sky, but none could delude him.

He blinked, and the world came back into focus again. He held two axes, silver and gleaming in the light of the sun. Before him was the beast, the warrior of wood he heard. Above were Takuya and Zoe, attempting to create a forest fire amidst the white plains, and Koji slashing through the roots that bound JP to the ground.

The tail lashed up in the air, catching the dragon and a blade of wind blocked the return as attention was diverted.

Tommy roared, throwing his axe.

It cut straight through the tail, and the rear of pain was ample time to launch his second weapon. And then JP was free. Free and evolving, becoming larger…and loading his cannons with enough electricity to bring the largest creature upon the earth to its knees.

And it fired, ripping through the beast of wood. A limp head rose futily, but Koji had evolved too. The beast warrior of light, launching a sizzling laser from its jaws.

If there was anything left, the fire and wind finished the job, and the spirits of wood winked before vanishing into the D-tector along with the new company of ice.

Tommy devolved. And trembled slightly. But then the white plains were suddenly crawling. Crawling with digimon and tears of thankfulness and warmth from the heater that made green their centre.

And they were brought many thanks and a hot tea and blankets by the flame, and he wondered why the city still felt cold. And he wondered to the shadows behind their eyes.

'We are thankful,' they said, bowing repeatedly. The roof remained on two walls; the third had been crushed inwards before their arrival. 'That vicious beast was destroying our homes.'

And so it, he, had. Others were in a similar state, or sorrier. For a little paradise surrounded by lush snow, it looked more like a God-forsaken village in the middle of nowhere.

'Will you rebuild?' JP asked, surveying the damage. 'Or find another place.'

One of the villages, a Frigimon, replied. 'We cannot leave. This place is the only home we know.' He closed his eyes wearily. 'We will do as we have always done: rebuild.'

Within the hour, the children found themselves helping, despite protests.

* * *

><p>In an instant, the dying garden vanished into space, leaving only scraps of discarded land – enough to walk upon to the end of the world – behind. The D-tector glowed with its new data before settling into a cycle of sorting, breaking and repair. The hope that had fluttered into the breeze flew still. Higher than he could reach, could catch, even if he stood at his tallest and reached out for them.<p>

But he wasn't doing that. The dirt still coated his hands and now there was nothing for him to clean them with. The stream was gone; the entire village and its inhabitants were now in the palm of his hand. Merging with streams from other places, other souls…

The last tears dried in the stilted air as he stood upon nothing. Against nothing. A solid nothing under his feet, propping his body upright, dragging him by the wrists –

The ends had been capped. Everything else fell in between.

Data swirled. He called them, and the shadows they governed. Called them to wrap his form, numb the pain he neither wanted nor deserved – and the pain that was his own to carry since birth upon a gradient stick. He didn't have to live with it; he let the spirit take it all, absorb it like the black hole it was. The passive face that had comforted him for so many years till it slipped away, quickly, like melting butter.

Here, he clung to its renewal like a lifeline, and even as the digimon took a new step, his heart burned dimly with fever, spitting embers before turning into a pilot frame not strong enough to light up shadow.


	18. Strength is not the Only Weapon

Author's Notes

And the last of the beast spirits from the Digidestined. Unless you count Koichi but he never falls into the continuation…

My plan's almost cut in half since my original. 28 in comparison to the original 52, but nothing lost so that's fine. It was more a foggy outline covering the beast-spirit arc and some chapters which really work better together as opposed to separate. So ten more chapters to go, so even though next month is crazy on my calendar (more so than last month), I think I can still try and finish this before my next semester starts.

Lol, look at me. Waiting for a new semester when I've still got the old one for another month and a half. :)

About glasses vs. contacts. I'm a glasses person myself, mostly because I take laboratory glasses and wearing contacts means running the risk of getting them fused to your eyelid s – and they're serious too. My glasses actually started leaking something green once (from the glue). Anyway, three main problems I have with them are they're annoying when they get wet in the rain because it's not like the lens cleaner just soaks up the moisture, they fall off when I'm doing somersaults and jumping jacks, and the third one's not relevant to this fic. Neither are the plusses. Zoe seems like she'd take an arts stream though, so she should be safe from fused eyeballs, and high school chemistry isn't intense enough for the most part (at least wasn't in our school).

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 17<span>

Strength is not the Only Weapon

They were both happy and sad as they departed from the village in the snow and crossed the remainder of the Continent of Ice. Happy because the village looked as good as new for the most part, and sad because it was yet another place that had suffered the after-effects from Cherubimon's warriors.

'At least we're two warriors down,' Takuya pointed out as they trudged along the sunny plain. 'And we've got four beast spirits.'

'I wonder what mine's going to be,' Zoe mused, raising her face to the light. 'Whatever it is, I hope it's strong. And I hope it's a place that's not populated; I don't want to see another town so desolate.'

They all murmured their agreement. Except Bokomon, who simply mumbled 'oh deer.'

They stopped walking. 'What's wrong?' Tommy asked.

'There's supposed to be land here.'

The statement seemed rather odd until they looked to the horizon…and saw an expanse of sea.

'Now…how are we supposed to cross this?'

* * *

><p>In the end, they flew. JP carried the digimon. Zoe carried Tommy – after giving the boys a withering glare as they questioned her. Takuya carried Koji…or rather, Koji rode upon Takuya's back.<p>

They really should have expected the flight to not be a simple one, but for some reason the thought had simply never crossed their minds.

Before that was the calm sea. And the whirlpools rising up. An oxymoron in itself, but…

'Gorgeous,' Zoe breathed, then murmuring the likes in Italian.

'Says you,' JP called back, buzzing his wings in slight annoyance. 'Those little water droplets feel like ants crawling on my winds.'

Tommy failed to hold back his chuckles.

'You're fine, aren't you?' his transporter asked.

'Sure,' the youngest of their quintet replied. 'A little cold, but I'm fine.'

'My pants are falling off,' Neemeon inputted, causing a strange expression to cross the beetle's face.

'That's…disturbing.

'Hold on to them,' Bokomon supplied at the same time. 'Oh dear, I'm afraid I'm feeling a little queasy.'

'How did I get stuck with you two?' JP complained.

Their shadows glided beneath them, distorted where the whirlpools spun.

* * *

><p>They spotted many little land formations amidst the water. Little islands in a sense, but the largest would only support two humans at the best, and perhaps even then unstably. Little rafts floating; they watched the smallest prey to the waves buffeted by nature's hands, flowing on nature's palm…<p>

'It's beautiful,' Zoe breathed, closing her eyes and simply inhaling the sight. The slightly salted breeze with flecks of moisture tickled her nose. Strange salts – not like the oceans back home and certainly not like the little rivers that flowed through Tokyo. Perhaps the water of Tokyo Bay came close, but even that paled in significance to this.

She wondered how the air would have smelt if the aeroplane hadn't been there. When she left her home in Italy and moved to Japan with her family. If she'd sat upon the wing…or better yet, flown beside it with the wings sprouting out of her back, how that ocean would have smelt…

A thin burst of water quite rudely interrupted her contented thoughts.

She shook her head, thankful for the visor and cursing it at the same time – a wet visor wasn't particularly useful, even if it _had_ prevented the water from getting into her eyes. It was just like wet eye glasses – and she knew that feeling well. It was one of the two reasons she had begged for contacts instead (clear of course; she had absolutely nothing against her eye colour). The other was they fell off every time she did a somersault.

She could still see, albeit it was like seeing through translucent shower screen as opposed to a clear glass. And she scowled. The next moment, she was dropping her passenger off on the first floating piece of earth that looked _remotely_ safe and calling the winds to her palms.

Below her, Tommy seized the hat upon his head and held it down, half crouching upon the rocky surface as water lapped around the edges. He really hoped Zoe knew what she was doing…

And as she sent a tornado stream towards the warrior of water, he also hoped Ranamon did not get the idea to flood him into her head. He couldn't swim all that well. He was perfectly safe on his little…island, he supposed he could call it. Kazemon was winged, flying high in the sky as the land stretched in pieces below her. Ranamon was not, but the water carried her, held her high. Pillars rose from the ocean, pushing the whirlwinds aside.

He also hoped those whirlwinds didn't get too close to him…or him to them. He didn't fancy a spin, and he wasn't a fan of rollercoaster rides.

* * *

><p>'Zoe!' Koji yelled, sounding almost exasperated as the pair watched her set down Tommy and immediately engage the warrior of water. After the initial burst of water and return tornado, Ranamon had waved her hand almost lazily to send the pillars of water after the warrior of wind.<p>

She wasn't too thrilled, ripping them apart with her wind. Of course water, being as malleable as it was, simply reformed and eventually she was forced to move. To dodge. To evade.

And the pillars moved in like a cage to imprison her.

Takuya snarled and made to spin his tail and work up a tsunami of fire, but the warrior of light stopped him.

'Don't be an idiot,' he snapped. 'You blast the water, and none of us will be able to see a thing. We'll be sitting ducks.'

'…right,' BurningGreymon responded, easing the propulsion before giving his wings a viscious flap. 'Dammit. JP?'

'Water conducts electricity,' Beetlemon replied. 'And in I – aargh!'

The two remaining airborne humans looked over at the warrior of thunder, watching him convulse slightly in the air as static surrounded him.

'Uck,' the beetle grumbled, shaking the feeling off. 'Don't tell me there's a storm coming.'

The others looked blankly at him.

'Electricity is attracted to lightning in storms,' JP explained. 'I think my body's sensing it in the air, and it's not exactly the most comfortable feeling in the world.' He attempted to rub himself without dropping his passengers – a feat he failed quite epically at.

'Maybe you ought to set us down as well,' Bokomon suggested, shaking his ears. 'I don't fancy the idea of getting fried.'

'My ears feel funny,' Neemon complained, as if agreeing without explicitly stating so.

When the next blast of water caused the three boys to get showered, JP decided it would be a good idea to set his cargo down. Perhaps staying down wouldn't be far amiss either; he was pretty much useless in the air after all.

So was BurningGreymon, whose wings after being doused were rather heavy. Luckily, Koji had the foresight to jump off before the other canooned into the water.

'Gee,' Takuya coughed, devolving as he did so. 'That was nice of you.'

'No point us both being drowned rats,' the warrior of light pointed out sensibly, offering a hand.

The brunet, still grumbling, took it. Luckily, the small island appeared stern enough to hold them both. Just barely though, and it was quite a chore to get them both standing stably.

'I should just push you off again,' Koji sighed.

'You wouldn't after all the trouble you took to get me up here,' Takuya responded cheerfully, before sneezing.

'Yeah, yeah…'

'Hey, you were joking.' Takuya almost punched the other on the shoulder. Almost. Luckily, foresight kicked in, in the nick of time too, elsewise one or both of them would have tumbled off again.

And really, the brunet had been rather lucky not to get caught up in one of those whirlwinds.

* * *

><p>Zoe had lost concentration in seeing the brunet flounder in the wild water before Koji helped him out, and payed for her distraction by taking a hit and losing her advantage in altitude. Now trapped within the columns of water, it was all she could do to keep her head clear, her wings relatively dry and her entire form above the large expanse of water below her.<p>

Ranamon laughed joyously, sending another stream at her to parry. Scowling, the other female dodged it. The glistening drops hung around her, impeding her, while the warrior of water seemed completely content in her domain.

And why not? She was the warrior of _water_ after all. She was wind. Too much moisture really impeded her element.

Another burst of water struck her wing-tips and she faltered.

Ranamon laughed again. 'Is that all yah got?' she asked, accent heavily but certainly not out of place. Somehow, her loose manner of speech seemed to fit into her sprite-like appearance her own (and rather good – the Italian accent was barely noticeable) never could. 'The water's mah domain sugah.' Another burst of water shot at Kazemon, and she barely ripped it apart with her wind. 'Your little breeze has got nothing on it, let alone your sad little human heart.'

Those words were said so carelessly, so mockingly, that the rage ripped through her body. Wind exploded from her hands, tearing through the cage of water that kept her to the ground and she shot up – up –

And played right into the other's hands as the jet hit her full force, paralysing both wings and sending her crashing down. The whirlpools rose too, hungry mouths eager to swallow her up.

She choked. First on anger, then air, water and finally pain.

* * *

><p>The others watched the water prison explode, and a cheer was on Takuya's lips as they watched the female fly high. It seemed for a moment that Zoe had really gotten the advantage, but then the jet of water knocked her straight out of the air and send her into the eye of the whirlpool.<p>

Both remaining flyers had their hands in their pockets, reaching for their D-tectors. Koji stopped Takuya. JP stopped himself; with his static electricity, he'd more likely electrocute the girl before he helped her.

Of course, Ranamon didn't give them any further chances to dwell by sending waves at them. The next moment, four humans, two digimons and an egg (mercifully still with Bokomon), were floundering in the water.

Ranamon moved closer and raised a hand to finish them all – and froze. Suddenly, she could hear something under the water. Something calling her.

'Could it be?' Her accent faded to almost nothing in her hope. Her beast spirit. The thing that could make her whole. Stronger. Prettier. More worth. Then maybe the one digimon whose opinion mattered would look at her with more than the scorning pity one used to address a weak child, a maid good for nothing save spilling milk. Sure she was pretty, but she had her own agenda in destroying the warrior of wind.

She'd seen Mercurymon looking at her. She'd heard him say she was pretty. She knew he meant for her to hear…but she didn't care. Pretty…maybe she was. _She_ could allow that. But it was Ranamon who was the prettier, the stronger. It was her who was the victor.

And with her beast spirit, that victory, and she herself, would be complete.

She flipped in the air and dove underwater, following the siren call.

* * *

><p>Zoe floundered uselessly in the dark prison; the water clung to her, refusing to let go no matter how much she struggled. And without air, it was a struggle weakening by the minute, the second…<p>

Two minutes, she thought grimly, trying to reach the light while squashing her panic beneath her weight. Three if she was lucky.

She could have cried. The shadows persisted, clouding her vision. Forming shapes. Pain. Loneliness.

That wasn't what she wanted to see.

Regret.

The light grew smaller.

She remembered. How it was when they moved. How a foreigner didn't fit into Japanese society, even one who could speak and write well.

Japan had been a pretty place on the outside; the Sakura trees especially were gorgeous when they were in full bloom. Eventually they had become her solace in a world she was exempted from.

It hadn't seemed fair at all. So what if she wasn't interested in the things other girls liked? So what if she looked a little different? Had a slight accent? Didn't know how she was meant to behave in a society that wasn't making it easy for her at all?

But then…

Tomoyo's face appeared before her. Saying quietly, rather sadly, that neither of them had really put the effort in. She, Zoe, had been angry at that; she'd yelled, in front of the entire campsite and send the brunette away from her in tears as the other girl mumbled something about pots and pans. She drove a wedge in and made sure it stayed buried deep. Tomoyo had tried to approach…

But that wasn't right. She shouldn't have done that. Despite where Tomoyo had been wrong, she had been right in that the blonde had not tried to adapt, to become a friend. She had stubbornly clung to things even as she outgrew them. She'd liked the cute worm keychain; it was pride alone that stopped her from purchasing it. Perhaps at the beginning it hadn't, but beyond that she had played just as much of a role as anyone else in pushing herself away.

The Digital World was so _different_ that she hadn't noticed how normal she had felt. Not strained, uptight, forced…but _normal_. And how easily she had fallen in with the boys. Even the quiet Koichi she'd barely spoken to.

She wondered where he was. What had happened to him. She imagined he was safe; she hoped so, but there was a rational basis to that hope. After all, it seemed their group attracted all the trouble, and Koichi had spoken of no trouble at all before meeting them. Koji had, separately, said the same. It was the large group attracting attention.

But she loved them all nonetheless. It was somewhere she belonged. Somewhere where she had seen herself, _could_ see herself reflecting on the water shadows fluttering past as the light shone brighter…

She blinked. Shone brighter?

She could suddenly hear wind whistling in her ear, and as soon as that registered, the water prison about her vanished, and there was just that glow taking shape. And from her pocket, the D-tector came free and floated to her hand.

_My beast spirit…_

She exploded out of the water, air bending flawlessly to her will.

* * *

><p>The beast warriors of water and wind met in the air at the same time, and it would have been a meeting for the history books if Bokomon wasn't busy coughing up water and crawling to shore to notice. The burst of wind had pushed them all as close as they could get to the rocks before being battered. The taller humans quickly climbed up, stabilising themselves before helping Tommy and the Digimon.<p>

Once on high ground, they looked back, dripping puddles of water and staring at a beautiful bird against a giant and rather ugly squid.

'Tell me that's not Ranamon,' JP said, a little weakly. 'That's…that's hideous.'

Koji, Takuya and Tommy just nodded with odd expressions on their faces. So did Neemon, after he had finished wringing his pants.

'I'm suddenly reminded of the story of the Wicked Witch,' Takuya mumbled. 'Dorothy's going to splash a bucket of water on her and she'll be all washed up.'

It was an odd analogy, considering The Wizard of Oz was a western tale, Zoe was the Dorothy and the Wicked Witch killed with a bucket of water was the warrior thereof. It seemed ironically fitting though, as though the water washed off a mask and the doubt and let true faces show.

They had to wonder though what it would have been like if the warrior of water was a human spirit as opposed to an entirely digital one.

'Me think thou shouldth worry about thy own problems.'

They all spun around – tired, annoyed and dripping wet – to face the warrior of Metal.

'Four on one?' Koji asked, a little sceptically.

'He can reflect attacks,' Tommy whispered. 'We tried fighting him and Arbormon before, but he caused all sorts of trouble.'

'Ah,' the warrior of light mumbled.

'He also hurt Koichi,' Takuya inputted, although his motives were lost on the others.

'He did _what?_' The growl spelled certain doom for whoever dared to do such a thing.

'Hey, Koji,' JP whispered, finding that reaction a little…not necessarily odd as he heard plenty of his classmates – he knew who his friends were now – talking about their older brothers beating up those that bothered their younger siblings. It was true that Koichi was the elder when it came to the Minamoto twins; it was the only way he could be a year ahead after being born and raised in Japan. After all, their school system didn't allow classes to be skipped; regular classes were quite demanding, and if that wasn't enough, there were various cram schools and even the more prestigious academies for the highest achievers. For those who couldn't keep up, or whose talents lay skewered to a certain field, there were institutions and after school classes to deal with them all. The only problem really was avoiding people one's own age. He supposed though the people born on April 1 were a bit of an exception to that last rule, being stuck as a year younger even when the difference could be months, or even less. There was someone in their class born April 2nd after all, but it was a year difference instead of a second day like with Koji.

But that train of thought was getting entirely off topic.

'What?' Koji growled.

'What do you do with the guys from school that tease your brother?'

Silence. It had been a perfectly innocent question on the surface, but deeper down it could have been easily accusing. And yet, that wasn't JP's intention either. He was just pointing out a little development Koji hadn't thought of recently.

'Aww, Koji's being the big bad brother.'

'Koichi's older.'

'So.' Takuya shrugged. 'Not by very much I'd imagine. I can't believe you guys still wound up in separate year levels. Somebody must have been seriously stubborn.'

'Guys?' Tommy asked, gesturing at a forcibly unmoving Mercurymon. 'Shouldn't we do something?'

'Considering he always reflects our attacks,' JP replied reasonably. 'I think we're better off leaving him. What can he do? And this _is_ a good time.'

'For what?' the young brunet blinked, before repeating the action when JP nudged Koji in the ribs.

'What was that for?' the warrior of light asked, a little distracted; the expected annoyance was absent.

'You haven't answered my question Koji,' the warrior of thunder replied.

'I…' Koji sighed. 'I used to beat them up. Of course, Mum and Dad were never happy about that and Koichi would fuss _so_…'

Takuya snickered at that. 'Sounds like he's like a mother hen.' Then he blinked. 'Used to?'

'I told you. It was like we lived in two different lives, after…'

'I've been thinking about that actually,' JP interrupted, taking a brief break to make sure the two women were still engaged and Zoe was fine (which she was). 'Are you sure it was the fire, or was it just you feeling guilty and your brother upset and both of you dealing with it in a child-like manner?' When Koji made to interrupt, he added: 'You guys _were_ pretty young then. And if both of you were stubbornly set on something – and I don't know about Koichi despite knowing him longer but I do know you would – then it's a possibility.

'Were you guys even _at_ school?'

'Koichi was. I think I was going to pre-school. But there were plenty of people around the neighbourhood who thought he was weird too.'

A loud splash of water made them turn to watch the beast warrior of wind send her opponent into the water. A cheer broke off as the other emerged and spat ink – or acid.

The next moment, both of them were under the water.

* * *

><p>Mercurymon wasn't in any particular rush, so while it was rather irksome to watch four children chat and completely ignore him, he let them in favour of watching Calmaramon and Zephrymon clash in the air and the water.<p>

For the moment, Calmaramon was gloating at the upper hand.

His thin lips twisted into a smirk. She had already lost and didn't even realise. He supposed he could help: teleport maybe, or his beast spirit could give the pretty young girl a run for her data, but really, if the warrior of wind was incapable of beating a silly little girl on her own, she was hardly worth salvaging.

And he was right. Zephrymon exploded out of the water in an explosion of wind, cannoning into the giant squid and ripping through. The next moment, there was a shout of triumph as the data was absorbed.

The remaining children were silent too. Which was good, because there was no more shows for him to enjoy any longer.

'I trust thy last words hath been spoken,' he said anyway. 'I bore of this impotent chatter.'

'And what exactly can you do if we don't attack?' JP crossed his arms, realising he'd done a lot more talking (and meaningful talking at that) than he had in a long time. And it wasn't a bad thing; every word had been important. Necessary.

It didn't matter at all he didn't do a whole lot of fighting. That he'd only gotten to defeat half a warrior…and the weaker half at that. He realised he didn't mind it all that much…and he knew he would be utterly useless against a knight of mirrors who reflected elemental attacks. Even his punches and tackles held static and could backfire on him.

But he had a feeling the others would cover him. And Koji would be covering for his brother as well. So it would all work out.

What they hadn't expected was a familiar voice to cut through and stop the evolutions. A snappish voice, emotion somewhat veiled but definitely of negative context, but familiar nonetheless.

'Mercurymon.'

Four humans and five digimon started (although few physically showed such) and then stared at the sudden and unexpected appearance of Koichi Minamoto.


	19. A Brotherly Quarrel

Author's Notes

It's kind of obvious what this chapter's about, but hopefully there's a little something that surprises you anyway.

28 was a mistake on my part; I never updated my final count. It's either 25 or 26, depending on how the next two chapters go.

Anyway…how did I manage to write this up in one evening? Lucky I managed it really.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 18<span>

A Brotherly Quarrel

Koichi had been expecting them; that was the only reason why his face was an expressionless mask: an exact replica of his brother's of late…or the last times they had come face-to-face. Now the other's exterior had cracked in a sense; he was looking at him like they had back when they were children, running around with few cares and before the fire had cut through their lives and driven a wedge in between them.

A wedge that both of them had played a role in hammering home – quite literally through their home. He'd been angry and bitter, and by the time those emotions had stemmed away into sadness and loneliness, it was the younger twin that had become bitter in his stead.

And it seemed they were reversing roles again, for Koji for all means and purposes looked happy, or content at the very least. Instead, it was him hiding behind a mask of cold neutrality.

He wondered, with a slight shadowing of the eyes he narrowed a tad, how long it was going to take the other to notice.

'Koichi?' Koji sounded exasperated with him; 'annoyed' was a descriptor he hesitated to use, but for others it may have been considered close enough. But beyond that, the younger twin also sounded…guilty. And relieved.

But that was going to change, and very soon. Of course, it would have changed anyway; he was just speeding up the process. The rational part of his brain revelled in highlighting his stupidity, but the vast majority was deft in ignoring that small (and rather annoying) prickle of lightly optimism. It wasn't going to get better; he wasn't going to get better, otherwise he would already have. Once his PSE came with him to adolescence, it would stay with him for the rest of his life. And really, did the few months he had remaining till that date even make a difference?

'Koji,' he responded at that point, tone flat.

The other humans looked more…enthusiastic at his appearance.

'Man, we were worried,' Takuya called, before scratching his head. 'Well, sort of. We were mostly hoping that, since we seemed to be attracting all the unwanted attention with our spirits and all, you wouldn't run into any trouble. And it was weird we didn't run into you at the Forest Terminal.'

They would see the falsity of that statement, but for the meantime he left it unresponded.

Mercurymon, contrarily to the humans, did not seem particularly thrilled at his appearance. 'What brings thou to thy neck of woods?'

Dark blue eyes turned to look at him. 'This was Ranamon's domain, and now that she is gone it belongs to however ultimately wins the data.'

'Hey,' Takuya yelled suddenly. 'That's right.' He turned to glare at the warrior of steel. 'We were about to –'

'No we weren't,' the others chorused, except Neemon who blinked in confusion.

'But aren't they supposed to beat the evil warriors?' the yellow rabbit asked, before yelping in pain as Bokomon reached for his waistband and snapped it. 'Ye-oww!'

Mercurymon shook his head. 'Foolishness.' He however made no move to attack, so for the moment things were at a standstill.

Until Koichi leapt down, jumping neatly off the cliff face he'd stood upon. From his view, it wasn't a cliff but to those who stood on a newly fashioned shore it could be seen as little else. He knew though it had once connected a larger stretch of continent: the Continent of Darkness if one were to be technically accurate. The Gate had been one of the first things to go once data was raked from the land; in a sense it was a sign of Cherubimon stretching his territory. Ophanimon however knew that to be false; she had been there when the Propheteer had arrived in a tattered billowing cloak and tidings of darkness. Cherubimon had not believed him, but others had not been so sure. Sadly, it was only the two of them and Oryxmon: the one who kept the records, who had witnessed those words.

With all the time Koichi spent in the library, it was inevitable he would come across that. The answer to the madness, so to speak.

Really, it was the reason he'd gone of his own free will that was the stupid part. But he'd wondered even before that, whether stopping a place in shambles from falling completely apart really accomplished anything in the long run. Wouldn't it be so easy for things to revert to the way they had been before they had come and brightened it up? Wouldn't it be worse, recalling the happier memories so fresh in their minds. Knowing they would soon have to go back to the sun cutting through their eyes and their head, the fire burning something away in their hearts…

Mercurymon, for everything else he had said and done – another cause for barriers in relationship – had implied there was another way. A way to avoid that, to change that…to perhaps give a more permanent solution where hope could actually accomplish something for someone. And where it was not needed, it was removed, and swallowed up in darkness.

Cherubimon had initially treated him a half-guest, half-prisoner. The library had been enormous, but uncomfortable. As if the Celestial Digimon had known how much time he spent in them in his own world. As if he knew what they represented.

But there had been something different about the library. A few things actually, the first being that he was confined to its limits. When he inquired to the reason, the Celestial Digimon responded he would know when the time was correct for those doors to be open. As for the coming of that time, that lay in the young boy's hands. Understandably, Koichi had understood neither head nor tail at the time. The second difference was there the material; his local one had a large assortment of fiction and non-fiction, but this one had only in the latter department. Surprisingly, some of the titles he had read before, or similar versions thereof. But there were others that he did not mention would ever become available on Earth…or at least so long as people remained ignorant of the inner nature of the Digital World.

There, he had stumbled upon a book similar in nature to Bokomon's tomb. One written from the memories and knowledge that Oryxmon hoarded in the labyrinth that was a physical manifestation of his mind. It was like the fantasy books of his own world, books he could lose himself in when he was far younger…but he was older now. Far less naïve, to think the world could be made by such imagination.

But this wasn't an imaginary world. To others, it was real, and so he continued to read…until he came to the legend, and the prophecy. And then he read on, because that was all he could do: too little for too big a world. An Eden of sorts that was slowly being snatched away. Whether he found his way home or the world itself eventually crumbled, it wouldn't matter.

It was sad and angry and hurt, and many other things he did not care to put a name to. And that was when he felt it; something calling to him, pulling him closer. Something soothing, numbing…but at the same time fearfully stirring.

It took a moment to realise he had backed into the bookcase, heart hammering fiercely in his chest.

For a moment it had reminded him of his medication. The headaches and nausea that the valporate stilled. The stronger stuff that took care of his more persistent symptoms after a worse seizure. The needles that doused him after a grand mal. And the prickling, the echoes of pain that remained within his mind and heart even as the chemicals attempted to swallow his heart.

Only…at that moment…it hadn't felt like that at all.

Later, he lay on the mat beside the low table that glittered strangely under non-existent purple lights. Attempting to sleep, he felt himself shivering needlessly in the warmth, dizzying slightly in the starlight.

He sat up, heart thumping even as he irritably attempted to quell it. But it was more than irritation; it felt so long since he'd felt the aura of a seizure…even if it was not something he could or would ever forget.

Save the purple stars that continued their strange sparkling dance, the darkness pressed around him in a comforting embrace. Shadows crept closer – he really should have been spooked because _that_ was definitely not normal – and enveloped him, the light and everything else that could be seen.

And he was numb again, and revelling in that numbness, that state without perpetual apprehension and pain. But he knew it would hurt more as an aftermath, just as every moment he spent in this world meant he'd have a stronger memory to long for once it was snatched away.

_But it doesn't have to be…_

He stayed silent. Still.

_Wrap your heart in darkness. Let go of all feeling._

The doubt still persisted, but that voice, innate and yet somehow foreign, knew.

_It doesn't have to happen. You can stay like this until your death, of only you get go of your heart._

Letting go. It didn't honestly sound like a bad thing.

_No. It only spares people from pain._

He thought about that. It would spare him, certainly…

_Light hurts. Darkness muffles that. And what it cannot muffle, it veils._

He leaned into the cool embrace. That was right; it could spare them all. It was no different. His eyes brimmed with tears. If he was going to die, than let it be accomplishing something that would live on. And let him leave nothing behind in that process.

He thought about how far away the light seemed, and yet how near. It was the darkness wrapped around him that was pushing it away, wrapping him in a cocoon of protection. Something that would keep him away from the others, from them. And Koji…he was the warrior of light. Just as near and far. His brother, his twin, but with years old brick wall between them.

He closed his eyes, and decided at that moment he would reinforce that wall so it would always persist. The small pain it would bring would be well worth the result in the end.

Something entered his heart at that point, but he felt it only as a trickle of honey slipping down his throat like how his mother used to give him when he had a sore throat. Something else fell to the floor and he recognised it: a D-tector, like that which the others had.

The darkness consumed him. In the distance, a door opened.

_And this_, he thought, eyes moving slowly to take in the entire scene from the same level. _This is where that door has lead. _Mercurymon looked annoyed at his presence, perhaps a tad jealous. The rest of them looked…pleased in the least.

A contradiction that would soon be corrected. He took a step forward, then another, then two more, passing the warrior of steel without breaking his gait. No-one said anything, although Takuya and Koji were both tense.

It was almost amusing how no-one saw his next move coming, at least not until he had reached into the little squall by his feet and plucked the data out: a glittering shell that quickly dimmed in his hands as it shattered, fragments turning blue and transparent as white and pink turned into fractal code.

It was Mercurymon's snapped: 'Don't interfere.' that spurred the others into action…or rather, voice.

'Koichi? Wha-?' Koji took half a step forward, only to stop when Koichi turned his back away to face the warrior of steel instead.

'Cherubimon wants to see you,' he said flatly, before turning sea-ward. 'And Ranamon, but there's little point in delivering that message.'

'So thou hath reduced thyself to playing messenger?' the other responded scathingly.

'Hardly,' the other responded without changing his tone. 'Unlike you however, I do not wait for others to make the first move.'

'Says one who doeth not step onto the battlefield,' the warrior scoffed, but snapped his fingers nonetheless. One of the shields detached from his arm, travelling a few metres before stopping. 'I'll leave these pawns to you then Duskmon.'

He snapped again and vanished, but not before hearing Koichi's reply. 'I am not like you Mercurymon.'

And Koichi returned his D-tector to his pocket. His hand however still remained on it.

'Koichi!' Koji half-yelled, finally causing the other to turn to him. 'What are you doing?! What's going on?!'

'Mercurymon called him Duskmon,' JP whispered. 'That means –'

Zoe stifled a gasp. Bokomon tightened his grip on the egg. Koji took another step forward…

Only to take a step back as Koichi suddenly evolved into the warrior of darkness in front of their eyes.

'Wha -? Why?'

'Did you think-?' Koichi began slowly. 'That I wouldn't be able to find a spirit suited for me if you never mentioned this?' He opened a dragon-hand, showing the black D-tector.

Koji looked, unrecognising.

'It was on the Trailmon,' the warrior of darkness calmly continued, voice revealing nothing.

Koji on the other hand was getting rather uncomfortable with the one-sided conversation. 'But I – I didn't see – ' He shook his head. One could have easily written that off as jealousy, but the honest true was that he hadn't seen it at all.

And he couldn't tell whether Koichi was being…well, childish and blaming him, or it was just a point he brought up for little reason at all. He was suddenly understanding his brother a lot less.

'No,' Duskmon answered slowly, turning away again. 'You didn't.'

And then he was gone. Moving so fast he was just a blur of darkness up a cliff.

'Hey, come back!' Koji stumbled forward. Takuya reached for him, but before the could catch the other's arm he was running too, evolving as he went.

Lobomon cleared the cliff with little problem.

The rest stared blankly a little longer.

* * *

><p>Koji found his brother watching the sunset, and by that time he was so out of breath he had almost given up on his search.<p>

And he found it a little…worrisome that his brother, his photosensitive epileptic brother, was staring at the sunset, the time (except maybe when the sun was rising) where the rays of the sun were most focused and most dangerous.

'Why are you following me?' Koichi, or Duskmon rather, asked quietly.

'You're…you're my brother.' Koichi hadn't questioned him like this since they were…three or four. He couldn't quite remember. But it had been an innocent subject then; something about leprechauns.

Actually, it hadn't been so innocent, he realised. The conversation had gone to rainbows and their light…and that light had pained Koichi even then.

'So?' the other asked in that same flat tone without turning around. 'Don't you have anywhere else you want to go except after me?'

Koji had to admit he didn't understand.

'I'll take the fractal code of this area too, and then there'll only be the second gate and the two castles.' He finally turned, closed red eyes staring at the warrior of light. 'Will you try and stop me?'

'I –' Koji shook his head. 'Why?'

'I already told you.' The eyes glowed, and Lobomon failed to react in time to consider blocking or dodging the lasers.

'I suppose not.' There was no gloating, no victory. It was simply the same flat tone he had used so often already of late.

'What's wrong with you lately?' Koji burst out, picking himself a little painfully off the ground. 'What-?'

He barely managed to dodge the second blast.

'Koichi!'

'Shall I take the data now?' Duskmon asked, voice not changing at all. 'Since you seem to have no intention of defending it.'

The next blast appeared to miss by a mile…until it revealed the data under the earth.

Koji reacted to that; he had no idea what was going through his brother's head, but he couldn't let anyone take the data and bring the world one step closer to destruction. Even if it was his brother.

Only…he didn't think he could fight his brother over it.

So when Koichi, no – Duskmon, straightened after the blast of blue light that almost missed his fingers, he did nothing even as another blast of energy, a different blast this time, crashed into him. The blow stunned him; the impact left him lying flat on the ground.

'Koji.' And it was Koichi over him. Not Duskmon. His brother but not his brother. His head was spinning. He didn't understand. Not at all. Something blue glittered. The data. 'Do you hate me?'

'Why?' he choked out.

'Because this is what I want to do.' He stepped away. 'Don't follow me again.'

_Please don't…because I don't think I can do this again…_

Because even with his heart clouded in the darkness of his spirit, he still felt the pain. But it was dim, echoing like he'd already let go of much already. Of almost everything that mattered.

But really, it didn't matter if _he_ couldn't let go. So long as Koji could.

He stepped away, and then he was running. Running with the wind to his back, to his feet as the darkness bled from his very soul. He ignored the tears trickling down his cheek, the tears he'd kept within after saying all that, doing all that to the person he had once loved so much. Because they were twins, and that would never change. They were jealous of one another; a wall was built of emotions from childhood trauma that was never knocked back down. Maybe they were both afraid, he reflected. Running like he was now, except never noting the fact.

But it didn't matter. There was no way back now. The data was in his hands; he held it tight.

He wondered, if it would be all worth it in the end. Would they all get what they wanted?

_Light and darkness be one…_

But at that moment, they were as far away as the sun and the moon at midday.


	20. Cracked Reflections

Author's Notes

Poor Koji in denial. Of course, Koichi helps matters none at all.

Sorry for the late update. I have a lot of things to do this week and next, including a practical exam.

This is largely based off the Mercurymon/Sakkakumon arc so as a result it's just touched upon. I said at the beginning that it was the twins' relationship that was the main focus, so I'm not about to veer so dramatically off six chapters away from the end of this fic.

That's not to say though that nothing happens in this chapter; there's the follow up from last chapter and the leadup into the next one to site a few examples.

Enjoy, and don't forget to drop a line all you ghost readers. :)

BTW please excuse spelling errors. It's two in the morning again.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 19<span>

Cracked Reflections

The others came by him too late, but even then they had made good time with a newly hatched Patamon's help. Somehow the once-Celestial Digimon had managed to trace the Warrior of Light when even their D-tectors had failed to do so, and yet still by the time they happened upon him the boy was staring blankly at the bland horizon.

'I don't get it,' he muttered. 'I just don't get it.'

None of them did; he didn't really seem like the boy they had met at Breezy Village…but none of them could deny there had been something about him, even then, that they couldn't grasp. Only Koji and JP knew him from before, the latter not so well and so only saw a drastic change. Koji on the other hand could pinpoint nothing, because he was just as much to blame for the distance in their relationship.

After all, it took two. It always took two. Whoever came up to them, thinking it was adorably cute how similar they looked, didn't understand that deep down…and even on the surface, they were very different people. Being twins didn't mean they had some perfectly unshakeable bond. Being born within minutes of each other…brought about as many problems as it did good.

There was no getting around karma after all. The universal laws that governed the world. Was this then the price they paid for their past…or maybe it was the price for a closer relationship in the future?

He clung on to that idea. If that got past this, things would be better, far better, when they returned. And it also, to him, meant that chance had not been wasted. As fragile as his reasoning was, he clung to it and stood with a slight wince…

…and took comfort in knowing they would only stun, and nothing more.

'What happened?' JP asked quietly.

'Koichi,' Koji replied, head down. 'He –'

'He took the data,' Takuya said, after the younger twin failed to continue. 'I mean, what's up with that?'

'He loved the Floramon,' Zoe said quietly. 'Anyone could see that.'

Not Takuya, who hadn't been there, nor Tommy. Nor Koji for the same reason. None of them had seen how the boy had been with the Floramon, and especially Flora. But Zoe had. JP had. Bokomon and Neemon had, and none of the understood in the least how such a person can destroy the home of other Digimon so easily.

Bokomon, like he always did in doubt, was flicking through his trusty book. 'I have here,' he said somewhat hesitantly as silence descended to awkward levels again. 'Uh…I think I better show you instead.' And he flipped the book over, showing a man in lionesque armour and a lion that looked fit to walk with an Emperor of Japan.

'Who are those digimon?' Tommy asked, blinking at the pictures. The others looked as well.

'They are Lowemon and JagarLowemon,' the white gnome replied, reversing the book again so he could read. 'According to this, _they_ are the forms of the warrior of darkness.'

'What?!'

Bokomon continued reading. 'However, it also says here that when the ten warriors went up against Lucemon, they weren't unified as the legend suggests, but –'

'Hey,' Neemon interrupted. 'Weren't those pages black before?'

'No you ninkunpoop,' the other snapped, turning a page. 'How could they – oh, you're right.'

Neemon looked smug.

'Oh dear. How did that happen?' Bokomon flipped a few more pages here and there, before shaking his head. 'Anyway, it says here that the warriors were actually at odds with each other, disagreeing with how to go about attacking Lucemon. Eventually, plans failed and they came together…except the Ancient warrior of darkness who remained as mysterious and elusive to all. For a time they believed he had actually betrayed them _for_ Lucemon…but then the Ancient warrior of darkness's plan came to light and Lucemon attacked and cursed him in a fit of rage. It was however too late as whatever AncientSphinxmon had done enabled the remaining nine to obtain victory, and then the spirits went to sleep.'

'So what was the curse?' the warrior of ice asked, on his toes with green eyes wide.

'Nobody really knows,' Bokomon replied, snapping the book shut. 'But it is rumoured that any digimon who tried to connect with the spirit of darkness lost their minds and are now trapped in a nameless horror until the digital world itself dies.' He trembled. 'And spirits are not supposed to be so picky; you recall BurningGreymon.'

They did, and Takuya for one would have rather that incident not be brought up. However, it showcased a good point.

'Then…does that mean..?' Koji's eyes were wide too, as were the others as the implications clicked. 'That my brother's spirit is cursed, and he –'

'I don't know how a digimon curse affects a human,' Bokomon admitted. 'For that matter, I don't know how spirits work at all when it comes to human beings. While it doesn't matter what _digimon_ takes them, they appeared to chose one of you in turn. Why was it that the spirits of flame called to Takuya and none other? The spirits of wind to Zoe…even if JP was much closer?'

'It was destiny,' Patamon chirped, landing on Bokomon's head from its hovering flight. 'Human beings are different from digimon. They have something more. We are the products of human beings, but human beings are the products of something greater.'

The children all stared at him.

'Greater means more differences, more space…' Patamon flapped his wings again. 'More possibilities! Yay!'

'You're being unexpectedly chirpy,' Takuya said, watching the orange bat fly in circles.

'Ophanimon's near.' Patamon pointed with a wing. 'See? See?'

All they could see was the purple mist above the Rose Morning Star.

'Koichi went that way too,' Koji said quietly.

'Let's go then.' Patamon flew forward. 'Let's go! Let's go!'

They followed, a little more subdued than the perky bat.

* * *

><p>'I see thou art still in one piece,' Mercurymon remarked. 'I trust thy adversaries weren'th too much for thee.'<p>

Duskmon pays the words no heed; despite that it was only the two of the that remained from Cherubimon's warriors, there was little love lost between them for Mercurymon looked down on the warrior of darkness because of the human body and soul he bore, and Duskmon because of the shallowness the other exhibited. Perhaps though the human did not look down persay at the warrior of steel, but rather disliked him or his company for that reason. In any case, the shallow mirrorface functioned to deny him empathy, and that made him unendearing once one looked past the surface.

For him, Duskmon that is, mirrors could contain layers of complexity. Like the labyrinth beneath the Rose Morning Star, coated with frames hanging in all dimensions and encasing fractal code. But the fractal code wasn't all the secrets they contained; the darkness wasn't all that was reflected. For Mercurymon though, it was only a silver shine for he had no wish to look any closer. To reflect his opponent, to reverse his strength and act upon his weakness – and become nothing thereafter, _retain_ nothing…it all simply seemed like a waste. Like a programme put through its cycles. What was the point of reading something over and over if one did not learn or achieve anything from it?

'Art thou too cowardly to provide thy comrade with thy answer?' The tone twisted slightly as Mercurymon added: 'Or is it though art planning something behind thy Lord's back?'

Duskmon turned slightly, carmine gaze reflecting of the mirror's surface without grasping a sliver of light. 'At least I do not lie about my allegiance,' he responded coolly, reversing his turn and returning on his way.

'Art thou accusing me of treachery?' He sounded indignant, but also somewhat concerned. 'Says thou who scutters about thou species like a butterfly.'

'You are mistaken,' the warrior of darkness responded without breaking his gait. And it was the truth; he was attempting to redirect the flame in a sense, but certainly not follow it. As an afterthought, he added: 'There are some things you can only accomplish by your own means.'

Mercurymon scowled at Duskmon's retreating back; there was something about Cherubimon's human warrior that unnerved him and being uncomfortable wasn't a feeling he particularly liked.

His eyes travelled back outside, watching the tiny specks of the humans making their way to the Dark Continent. With them they carried a lot of power, potential –

And Cherubimon wanted them rid of.

It would all work out perfectly. He transformed, pulling at the power of his beast spirit and letting it wrap around him before slithering out to meet the Digidestined.

* * *

><p>'Just how far is that castle?' Zoe moaned, feet dragging as she continued walking. 'It feels like we've been walking forever and we haven't gotten any nearer.'<p>

'Maybe it's this mist,' JP said, waving a hand in the empty air. 'It's quite misleading; good thing we only need to go straight.' A pause. 'Patamon? How much further is it?'

Silence.

'Patamon?'

No reply.

'Bokomon?' Tommy tried. 'Neemon?' When no answer came, he responded: 'I don't think they're here.'

'Takuya?' JP checked. 'Koji?'

There was an "I'm here" from Takuya and a simple "yeah" from Koji.

'So all humans are accounted for, but no digimon,' Zoe surmised. 'I wonder where they – woah!'

The boys stepped forward at her exclamation, blindly reaching out in the suddenly thicker mist. 'Zoe! Zoe!'

There was no reply.

Takuya, near the front, took another step forward, and suddenly felt something shove him in the back. 'He –' He was interrupted by the sensation of being swallowed…and suddenly found himself in a church of some sort.

He heard the fading echo of another shout. Tommy's, if he wasn't mistaken, but he couldn't see the other, even if the clear room with its towering stain glass windows and lighted pews.

Which only meant one thing. Someone was trying to separate them.

* * *

><p>Sakkakumon watched, content, as each of his orbs displayed a human: lost and confused. He continued to watch as battles were fought within, then frowned as each human escaped with a little more than that with which they had unwittingly stumbled upon him.<p>

But, ultimately, it did not matter. Human spirit was no match for the legendary warriors, and he now had all their power stored in memory. Disposing of them now would be easy.

* * *

><p>Takuya crashed into something warm quite suddenly…which was preferred to the hard ground thought he had been crashing towards.<p>

'Oww,' JP groaned, having had the unfortunate fate of acting as a cushion.

'Oh good.' That was Bokomon, sounding rather relieved. 'All of you made it out.'

'Huh?'

Koji (a tad roughly) pulled the brunet to his feet, and JP let out a groan of relief before rolling up himself. 'My back,' he managed, twisting and arching reminiscent to a cat before straightening up. 'That felt better.'

In reply to Takuya's unanswered question, Bokomon pointed at the collection of spheres hovering above them.

The warrior of fire stared. 'What _is_ that thing?'

'Sakkakumon,' the white gnome responded. 'The warrior of steel; each of those orbs is in essence another dimension and he has the capacity to replicate any attack that occurs within those limits.'

There was a pause as everybody processed that, then: 'Those are copyright! Takuya yelled, ducking under BurningGreymon's flames.

* * *

><p>It took quite a bit of manevouring to out-class Sakkakumon; he was a pain with the ability to replicate attacks, but apparently he lacked the means of originality…which worked in the favour of the digidestined.<p>

'I told you,' a new voice informed monotonously as the weather wore away at the beast spirit, the data slipping into a D-tector held up to receive. 'There are some things you just have to do with your own power.'

The Digidestined blinked in confusion; none of them had their D-tectors out, and for some reason it took them a moment to register the new presence.

The remaining fractal code slipped into the black device, leaving all present to stare at Duskmon.

'Art thou here to gloat?' Mercurymon scowled, one hand working to unlatch the mirror on his left arm.

Duskmon proved too fast, beams of red hitting the junctions between mirrors with a cold precision. 'No,' he responded, as the human spirit too lost its grip and flowed into simple fractal code. 'I'm here to end this.'

'Well, that's just not fair,' Neemon whined as the glow of data vanished, as did the mist that surrounded them. 'We do all the hard work and the bad guys get the credit.'

Bokomon snapped his waistband, causing a yelp from the rabbit. 'Don't be so foolish,' he snapped. 'Besides, what's important is Mercurymon's gone. Maybe Duskmon _is_ on our side.'

Koji looked as though he was going to step forward and ask exactly that, but their previous meeting stopped him. His only comfort was that Koichi was not looking at him either…but that could be as much a curse as it was a blessing.

Agunimon had no such inhibitions, marching forward until he was within arm's reach.

'Just what do you think you're doing?' he yelled. 'Don't you care how much you're hurting your own _brother_? Are you seriously going to let some –'

A blast of energy knocked him onto his back.

'Takuya,' Zoe and Tommy both cried, each taking a step forward. After a moment, the others followed as the warrior of fire got up and charged.

The warrior of darkness suddenly vanished into darkness, as did the mist.

And then there was the sound of a door slamming behind them, and rumbling before.

* * *

><p>Takuya stumbled forward a few paces, blindly reaching out. 'What happened?' he asked. 'Where's Duskmon?'<p>

Zoe coughed, before flapping her wings. 'Hang on,' she called, before summoning the wind to her aid. 'Hurricane Wind!'

The smog blew away, leaving them staring at the Rose Morning Star, rising up into the sky. Their view was only obscured by a large shadowy frame.

Bokomon trembled; Neemon cowered behind him and Patamon dove into his pouch. 'Cherubimon,' he quaked.

'Cherubimon?' the warriors repeated, before Tommy turned back.

'Guys, we're trapped.'

They all spun around to look at the black gate closing off the area behind them.

'So where did –' Koji began.

Lightning cracked in the sky with Cherubimon's reply. 'The prince of darkness is not your concern; you shall face me while Ophanimon's castle bows in surrender.'

Bokomon quickly flipped pages behind them.

'It says here,' he said hurriedly. 'That Ophanimon's castle on the Continent of Light is rumoured to be the last to fall, and when that does the Digital World will be no more.'

'No more?' Zoe repeated, before turning to Cherubimon. 'What could you possibly want that's important enough to destroy _everything_ for?'

The mega digimon looked down upon them, a feral grin upon his features as lightning cackled about him.

'Power,' he replied, feet touching lightly upon the broken soil. 'And now, I will take that of the ten legendary warriors.'

He raised a hand, black streaks of light clenched in his fist.

The five humans-turned-digimon tensed, preparing themselves both mentally and physically for the fight at their feet.

They had not been prepared, but it seemed the final battle was upon them.


	21. White Blossoms Fall

Author's Notes

:( Nobody reviewed the last chapter. Unfortunately it was necessary to bring the story to this point. But next chapter's one of my favs. You'll see why once I've actually written it.

Sorry for the shortness, but I figured it works better like this than me merging the (currently non-existent) next chapter with it.

BTW anyone recall that the name of the fusion evolved warrior of darkness has gone through many changes. It's gone through several throughout the years I've been writing for this fandom, and you know how it is teaching an old dog new tricks. Therefore I go with Rhihmon as the English dubbed version (which as far as I know is the current one) and Reichmon as the Japanese sub (which is the one I've actually used, even if they've changed it to something else now). The name derivative comes from "Reich" anyway, so it makes the most sense. Not to mention it's easier to say.

All right, this chapter's done. Practical exam, here I come. R&R.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 20<span>

White Blossoms Fall

'This is nuts!' JP yelled, dodging a lightning strike after his own broke like a child's play-sword in comparison. 'Koji, next time I see your brother I'm _murdering_ him for leaving us in this mess, no matter what he was thinking.'

'I'm inclined to agree,' Koji replied, although not as energetically as his attempted to dodge through the lightning to retrieve his lost light saber with little success. The whole mess was rather confusing, and it didn't help matters that he usually needed Koichi's help to sort through such problems.

Particularly considering Koichi was about half the problem…give or take.

Well…a quarter of the problem maybe. At the moment the least problematic quarter seeing as a giant evil stuffed bunny was attempting to fry them all to a crisp.

'Uurgh,' Zephrymon yelled. 'I'm sick of this. Plasma pods!'

'Zoe!' JP yelled, before wincing as the metallic armour pulled the lightning towards the beast digimon.

'Crystal –' Tommy began, hoping to ice the steel, but the warrior of thunder stopped him.

'You'll give her frost bite! And you'll burn her Takuya,' he quickly added as the beast warrior of flame readied himself for a tsunami.

'I've got it,' Lobomon growled, abandoning his weapon as a lost cause and aiming his laser instead. 'Howling Laser!'

The burst of light cut through the lightning, giving Zoe enough time to slide evolve into her human and mercifully steel-free spirit.

'Hurricane Wind!' she yelled, sending torrents of wind through the lightning. Takuya added his fire, and JP his thunder, but as impressive as it was to look it, all it did was create a temporary storm-wall.

And Cherubimon was in no rush at all to stop playing with them.

* * *

><p>Duskmon stopped at the edge of the blossom field. Unlike the pink ones that grew from the Sakura tree at his high school, the ones at his feet now were a pure white, free floating and drifting upon an invisible wind.<p>

It should have been beautiful. But it wasn't. A blanket of white, easily soiled…and it was already soiled. From the distance he could see the yellowing of their edges, the crumpling of once vibrant curves. The entire field was dying with the world; he wondered if what remained of the world was left to its own devices, it would crumble on its own. It certainly looked to be the case.

He stepped forward; several petals crumpled to dust beneath his boot. He paused for a moment – the sweet fragrance failed to reach his nose, if it even existed still – and then pressed on.

What remained of the white blossom field lay straggled in his wake.

* * *

><p>'Anyone got a plan B?' Takuya asked when his ball of fire, merged with Zephrymon's winds, failed to penetrate the lightning field even with JP's bolo thunder attracted it away.<p>

The newly slide evolved warrior of light shook his head. 'Not even our combined efforts have made a dent in this stupid barrier.'

Korikakumon roared and pounded his chest; he longed to smash through with his axes, but unfortunately they were also made of metal and conducted electricity. And his ice simply wasn't strong enough.

'It's my turn now,' Cherubimon's voice boomed through the storm. The flickers of black lightning grew stronger, until they were hundreds of spears pointed at them.

Cherubimon waved a hand. 'Thousand Spears!'

They shot at the Digidestined, powerful and too close to dodge.

* * *

><p>Nefertimon watched from the highest level of the library. She saw the thunder rain down upon the Continent of the Darkness and the warriors that fought in a hopelessly valiant struggle. She saw the last warrior that remained, the Warrior of Darkness, standing upon the terrain she had sworn to protect…<p>

…but before that swearing allegiance to something greater.

She knew the fight to save the Digital World, at the point they were now at, was futile. Perhaps it had always been; not one of Baromon's prophecies had come to pass, and the scroll that wrote the present of the Digital World had written too Lucemon growing in power behind his confines. The Dark Area in which he was imprisoned was not absolute, nor was any other thing in the universe. Life, even death, they all came to an end at some point.

No, there was no stopping his freedom. If he was delayed he would simply rise again. It was a thing though few people could see, and perhaps the only ones that could had their eyes opened for the wrong reasons.

Perhaps even her, for even faced with that destruction she could do little but read the present and the past and defend it…for that was her duty.

Before that though was her duty to the unwritten future of the Digital World.

* * *

><p>Cherubimon's lightning struck them all, and it was beyond anything they had ever experienced. No words could describe the pain that ripped through their bodies, the agony of something being torn from their hearts.<p>

It stopped soon enough, but in that mindless state it felt like eternity, and it took as long for the humans, now in human skin as well as soul, to crawl to their knees and find their spirits, and those they had captured, glowing before them.

'The spirits of the legendary warriors are now mine.'

Dust flew in the air as Cherubimon took a massive step forward. Takuya tried to raise a hand to catch the fire spirits but his body threatened to buckle from the lack of support, leaving him to curse under his breath and watch powerlessly as a large hand enclosed around them.

'I cannot allow this Cherubimon.'

The Celestial Digimon froze. 'Ophanimon, do not interfere.'

Her voice echoed through the shadowed castle and across the courtyard. 'I cannot allow this,' she repeated, and the collection of spirits began to glow in response. 'I cannot allow these spirits or the Digital World to fall into your evil hands.'

Booming laughter met her declaration as Cherubimon left the children and turned towards the castle. 'No-one can stop me,' he roared. 'Least of all you…Ophanimon!'

A bolt of lightning struck the tip of the castle. The entire structure crumbled as the bolt shot through to the foundations.

'Ophanimon!' the Digidestined and three digimon screamed.

'How ironic,' the remaining Celestial uttered, turning back. 'That you feel grief for an Angel of Life that could not save you.' He stepped forward again. 'And now, it is your turn.'

The storm cloud cackled in response as he summoned another spear from it. The D-tectors exploded in response, causing the spear to vanish.

'What?'

Each child took up their D-tector, watching the spirits return to the unified symbol that appeared on the screen.

'That's Ophanimon's symbol,' Patamon cried, flapping his wings and rising into the air.

'But my boy,' Bokomon said. 'How can you know?'

Patamon closed his eyes. 'I can feel it,' he responded. 'Her gift of life…but it's different somehow. Incomplete…'

'Ooh,' Neemon cried suddenly, pointing. 'The light swallowed them.'

And that was an accurate, if crude, description of what had occurred.

* * *

><p>The castle was easy to find; it was the only thing that rose more than a single inch off the ground and could be spotted for miles around. In retrospect the architecture was rather foolhardy, particularly when he discovered the door to be open and in plain sight.<p>

It was practically an invitation, and his numerous eyes could pick up no trap. Only one living being existed inside in the castle, even if arguably there were two who were sentient within its walls. And it _was_ arguable, because it was the data programmed to write the present and the past of the Digital World, and the data that resigned in the living life-form he saw.

It was also that data that was fated to be the last of the Digital World to be removed from the mainframe. The blossoms that would float free upon a darkened space as the world crumbled into non-existence. The last key, the one that marked the point of no return…

No, that wasn't true. That point had long since come and gone, and all he could feel was a dim sympathy for a Digimon who had lived her life as a slaughter-lamb, caught in the present and the past while waiting for the day where her metaphorical blood would be spilt in the destruction of the world.

Was it a noble cause? No. Could it have been? Maybe, but he was not a noble person; the path he had chosen, that he worked upon…he could only do it for his own selfish reasons because the future he sought lay at the end of it.

Or so he hoped.

His D-tector began to glow with a strange light at that moment as though to prove him wrong. Abruptly he crossed the threshold; the darkness of the library was comforting and simultaneously repulsive.

* * *

><p>Their voices spoke as one, but the results were as different from each other as one could imagine. In Koji's place was a wolf-man grander than Lobomon, a double-edged sword which looked like it could hack the giant bunny where he stood in one hand. In Takuya's was a dragon-man, a merge from Agunimon's hair to BurningGreymon's tail. In Tommy's place was a penguin with weapons that looked like icypoles to the eyes of an innocent child but in truth were deadlier than his blades. JP's was a magnificent humanoid beetle while Zoe's new form was with a jet and a turbo-fan.<p>

Somehow their spirits had merged, giving them new power.

Takuya, Aldamon, was the first to speak. 'Let's get him guys.'

Cherubimon scowled. 'Do not think this new evolution of yours has saved you.'

'You're cocky,' Zoe, or JetSilphymon, replied, readying her fan. 'Think you can stand up to this baby's winds?'

She ducked a lighting strike for her cheek, one Tommy, or Daipenmon, easily parried with his weapons.

Koji, or Beowolfmon, raised his sword, attracting the next bout of lighting for JP, or RhinoKabuterimon to electrify with his own elemental power and send back with a greater ferocity while he added his own light to the mix.

The double attack distracted Cherubimon enough for Takuya and Zoe to send a combined fire/wind attack to bring him down to their knees.

And as one again, they moved, summoning up their greatest attacks for the final strike…because it was too much to hope another miracle would come their way.

So they had to win, for the sake for the Digital World and all which had perished in defending it.

* * *

><p>'And so the Lady Ophanimon passes from this world.' The sphinx bows her head in a moment of prayer. 'Now there are no ties to bind me to any duty beyond my ancient vow.'<p>

Duskmon said nothing, nor did he love.

Nefertimon flew down to his level, hovering in the air. 'The dawn of destruction will soon rise,' she uttered. 'I cannot read the future but there are some things that are damaged too far to repair. But I also believe a new world will be born from the old, a future from the past.' She paused. 'It is not only the past of the Digital World I know.'

'Then you know my past as well,' Duskmon stated flatly.

'Yes,' the angel of Light replied. 'And I must ask if you are prepared to give it all up.'

There was a pause, wherein only lightning cackled from far beyond. 'It does not matter,' Koichi replied eventually. 'Whether I was prepared or not it is already given. And it's far too late to take back that decision.'

'That…' Nefertimon flew higher into the air, body glowing bright as the castle began to fall away. '…depends on what the future holds…'

Her body erupted into data, swirling closer to the ground. Duskmon considered it a moment, then took a deep breath and scanned it into his D-tector.

A moment later, the processing was complete and he extracted a ball of compressed files, within which was the surface of the Digital World.

'And so,' he said quietly to himself. 'Lucemon is revived.'

And he put his D-tector away, carrying what remained of his hope…and that of a new future.

* * *

><p>The world crumbled beneath Cherubimon as the combined attacks hit, piercing his chest. The data exploded and vanished into the land, but the triumph was short lived as no miracle followed thereafter.<p>

Worse, the remains of the Digital World fell away from their feet and crumbled into dust. Two eggs rolled to their feet; Tommy and Zoe picked up one apiece and stared at the symbols engraved on the shell.

'Ophanimon and Cherubimon,' Patamon murmured, jumping onto JetSilphymon's mane of hair and adjusting himself comfortably. 'The world is gone.'

'So what happens now?' The words were hollow; it was hard to imagine their victory had ultimately achieved nothing.

White blossoms scattered at their feet.

'The end of the Digital World,' said Bokomon sorrowfully, turning to the very last page of the book. 'After that is –' He turned the page to the last cover, before blinking at the words and starting. 'Lucemon is revived!'

'What?' Heads snapped back, then forward as the darkness exploded with light, a crack in the carnal at its centre, barely visible in the backdrop.

'It says here,' the white gnome quaked. 'A prophecy that few believed and fewer still acted upon; the freeing of Lucemon was inevitable, and the destruction of the Digital World was necessary for it to happen.'

'Does that mean the destruction of the Digital World too was inevitable?' Tommy asked blankly. 'That all that effort to protect it was wasted.'

'That's not true!' Takuya yelled, turning around and staring fiercely at them all. 'Who said all prophecies have to come true?'

'Hate to break it to you Takky,' Koji said in reply. 'But it _has _come true.'

'Then we'll fix it,' he said stoutly. 'I refuse to believe it was inevitable.'

No-one said anything.

'It just – it can't be.' He looked at his D-tector, at his spirits. 'Is that wrong?'

Agunimon shook his head, before parting to give way to his beast spirit that did the same.

A smile broke out on his face.

'Yeah, we'll restore the Digital World…somehow.'

'The data,' Bokomon said, 'If all the data is returned and repaired, then the Digital World will return to the state it should have been in.' He closed the book with a snap. 'That was what the D-tectors were designed for.'

'Then we just have to defeat Lucemon and reclaim that data…right guys?'

The hesitation betrayed him, but somehow that fear gave the others strength and they stepped forward to stand by his side as the dawn of destruction reigned upon them and the carnal they were staring at burst.


	22. Thicker than Blood

Author's Notes

Two exams done, two to go. Taking a break in between to crack down and study…and get the collab chap. done as well so my partner's not waiting three weeks on me. Sorry this chapter's late; I wound up working on the collab first. If you're (even vaguely) familiar with X/1999 by CLAMP, check out our first story. :) Under the collab account, Resonate Flame (link in profile and fav. list).

Lol, and now that the advertising's out of the way, on to more serious matters. I'll try to update next week, considering it's my also a favourite chapter (more so than this one but I do have to write it first) but I do have a somewhat difficult exam soon after that weekend so more likely I may not finish it in time. I'll do my best though, but just a word of warning in case you find no update waiting in your inbox (or maybe you only check once a week and will find this one instead. ^^)

Whoops, I accidently wrote Lucemon as a girl. Hopefully I caught them all and fixed it; honestly, where was my mind?

Anyone notice anything odd about this title? Hint, check the old titles.

And that's it from me. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 21<span>

Thicker than Blood

Light entered the darkness of his prison, splitting it open. Swirls of data flooded through the cracks and he took it all into his body…as he had since his imprisonment eons ago. Initially it had been a very slow process, leeching tiny tendrils without notice, but then a golden opportunity had presented itself as the seams in the perfect armour split just a little more apart…and then it was a flood of data with him as the unseen root.

And now, finally, the entire digital world was in him, powering him…and he would refashion it, create a better one…

After taking the last piece of the puzzle: the spirits of the ten Legendary Warriors.

The five humans watched as light suddenly burst from a sea of black. It shaped itself, unfurling and extending wings of white and a toga to match, a golden ringlet on a wrist and angle and a symbol none of them recognised painted on his chest.

It was only two eggs suddenly cracking open as the angel extended to his full height that distracted them.

Patamon for one seemed especially jubilant; the others were simply shocked as the shells faded into nothing and revealed a bunny and a cat. Bokomon frantically ruffled through pages as the three rookies chirped, quietening as soon as the angel turned his face towards them.

'Salamon and Lopmon,' the white gnome said finally. 'The rookie forms of Ophanimon and Cherubimon.'

'So the three Celestial Digimon could not concede to me,' the angel said calmly, flying a little closer. 'Even after death. Pitiful.'

Blue eyes swept over the collection; the digimon all backed away, humans staring stoutly back. 'I have the Digital World in my hands now. Soon I will refashion it into a greater one, a better one. One without pain and suffering and oppression.' A small smile curved his lips. 'You are welcome to stay if you wish, legendary warriors. But know if you oppose me, I simply must destroy you.'

'Such a thing is not possible,' a new voice interrupted as Takuya opened his mouth to rebuke the statement. 'To have a world without pain and suffering would be to have a world without life and death.'

'And what is wrong with eternity?' the angel replied, turning to the speaker.

'There is no value in things that do not come to an end,' the other responded flatly. 'And you are not a God.'

'Once I have created the new Digital World I will be God.' The angel looked somewhat intrigued by his opposition. 'And you have assisted in that; why question it now?'

'I am not questioning,' the warrior, clad in armour of black and gold with wings that glittered in orbit, responded. 'Nor did I assist you, as you called it.'

'Oh?'

'Lucemon…' Beneath the visor, the warrior only the angel seemed to recognise, although all three Celestials were peeking from behind RhinoKabuterimon's large frame. 'There is only one way for the utopia you dream of to come true.'

Lucemon frowned, bringing his hands up just as the other raised his staff to etch in the air.

'Red cross!'

'Grand cross!'

The attacks collided in the air, pushing both parties back.

'I see you've gotten a power boost, warrior of darkness.'

'No more than anyone else,' the fusion evolved dark warrior evenly replied as the remaining legendary warriors gaped at him.

'You mean –' Takuya's jaw dropped open. 'I'm even more confused now, because it sounds like he's on our side.'

'Maybe he's on his own side,' Tommy suggested.

'Or maybe he's acting in accordance with his predecessor,' Bokomon added. 'After all, the Ancient Warrior of Darkness did work with Lucemon only to betray him and set the stage for his downfall.' He flipped through his book a little. 'Ah, here. Reichmon, the fusion evolved warrior of Darkness. ' He pressed the pages open, seeing the crudely drawn picture beside Beowolfmon.

They all remembered Duskmon had not been in the book, nor the beast spirit they hadn't seen…or he hadn't used. They wondered what the proud but gentle looking lion would have appeared to be in the warped form Duskmon had become of Lowemon.

'I see.' Lucemon's frown increased and drew their attention to him. 'You foolish humans have decided to mark my road to the new world.' He raised his arms, feeling the data he had leeched from the world circle through them. 'So be it.'

His form changed, became larger.

* * *

><p>Koichi was not surprised; he knew the small, almost frail looking form had only been to save and store energy. His attack may have been a powerful one, but it was at rookie strength and no more. Like an attack from the Celestials in the state they were now in, he imagined. He'd seen the pictures in Cherubimon's library, large as life as they now were. Wings of white and black over each shoulder. One side angel, the other in devil's skin.<p>

The thing he thought to be his greatest strength…and unwittingly, he exposed his greatest weakness.

And he, Lucemon, had weaknesses. Three that he had seen…could see. The demon side: his sin, pride. The angel side: the blindness that came from standing too long in the light. And the combination, that he was one soul and thus imperfect. Unbalanced. And that was the easiest to exploit, because they were all blind, and choosing to continue on blind. And as for pride…he wasn't even going there.

He raised his shield instead to block the stream of darkness that came for him.

* * *

><p>The legendary warriors launched into the offensive from the first stream of light attacking their ranks. Koji parried with his 'Cleansing Light' and JP his lightning, leaving the remaining three to search for an opening.<p>

If they found one, they missed as Lucemon easily swerved out of their way. Luckily, they were far shy from the warrior of darkness…because the boy was so full of surprises no-one was looking forward to seeing his reaction.

Another red cross managed to strike Lucemon on the back, prompting Lucemon to send another stream of darkness, blocked by the shield.

A giant ball of fire struck the half-angel, half-demon in the back and he turned again. His stream of light was met with the white wolf, and while he blocked the strikes of the sword with his 'Paradise Lost', Zoe and Tommy bright their weapons down on him.

Lucemon flew higher and then scowled. 'So you have proven to be more of a challenge than I thought. But if you thought this would defeat me, you were sorely mistaken.'

Koji raised his sword again. 'Frozen Hunter!'

A stream of light and darkness knocked the attack, and its warrior back.

'Koji!' Takuya gritted his teeth, preparing another ball of fire. A second stream of darkness struck him, and a stream of light JetSilphymon who had flown in to cover.

A stream of darkness from its warrior was blocked by a stream of light from Lucemon as a third stream of darkness knocked the warrior of ice back.

Thunder send a barrage of bolts, and Lucemon flew higher, breaking his attack before the shield that thwarted him could crumble. RhinoKabuterimon dug his wheels in for a final attack…only to be blown back by a combination of light and dark.

That gave Reichmon enough of a warning to dodge the stream of light heading for his head, but he didn't quite manage to dodge the dark one.

'Pitiful.' Lucemon extended his hands, palms up. 'How easily you all break apart.'

No-one said anything.

An orb of light grew in one hand, an orb of darkness in the other. 'Here, the combination of two opposing powers unopposed.' He let one loose. The orb of light.

Takuya clawed to his feet and sent a ball of fire colliding into it. It sizzled out, even with JetSilphymon's assistance, returning a far smaller ball of light.

Beowolfmon's sword swung up, the wolf of light taking care of the west.

And then the orb of darkness came at them, unopposed. It passed through the thunder; the ice failed to reach. And if the warrior of darkness _could_ do anything, Lucemon was between the orb and the warrior.

The power struck them, and suddenly they were enclosed. Engulfed. Through the black they could make out another orb of light growing as well.

'Attack!' Takuya roared and they did so, pounding their best attacks against the wall. It wavered. Hovered. Close to shattering…

But it wouldn't be enough because the orb of light was simply too close.

They heard Lucemon say something, someone reply – and then the orb of light hit and only pain remained.

* * *

><p>The orb broke apart. It was good handiwork; it would have been better though if those blasted warriors hadn't interfered. Lucemon scowled; they were putting on a better show than he had expected from their level of power. Perhaps all those years in the Dark Area had sapped a little of his original strength as well. Even with that final last-ditch attack from the warrior of darkness to thwart his second orb of light, the combined attack should have been enough to destroy those Digidestined.<p>

But they were alive. Devolved, but alive…and not even barely conscious. They did appear to be struggling a little, but they could easily claw into a second wind and rise again.

He prepared another orb of light, only for it to crash into the warrior of darkness instead. He recalled well what had happened in the past…but it was long gone and a passively suicidal human was no substitute. If the boy was relying on old fairytales to bring him victory…then he would shatter his hope.

So he sent an orb of darkness at it. And this time there were no warriors ready to stop it.

'Koichi!' D-tector was in hand, but there was no time to scan the data through before the attack struck his brother. But Koichi didn't scream; not like them. He had expected it…somehow. He had known…

'Lucemon.' That same voice, even in a pain they could not understand (for there's had been split into five and he was a single person. 'It…was always impossible.'

Lucemon frowned. 'What was?'

'Your dream, my dream…everything.' A pause. 'It was impossible to stop you from this, for even as that wall was built around you, so long as your data remained whole you existed and as long as your awareness remained you grew. It was easier…far easier…to speed it up.'

'By assisting in collecting the data?' The Sin's gaze was curious. 'What did you hope to accomplish in the end…except the end you wanted?'

'Exactly the end I wanted,' came the reply. 'A little different to this, but it's all the same…' The voice quietened, became less monochrome and more human, if still monotone. 'But quantity doesn't substitute quality.' Something blue glowed inside the orb, and then Lucemon gritted his teeth.

'The data of the Digital World,' the warrior of darkness pressed on. 'Important bits are stored in tiny files, removed by the D-tector while changing nothing of the exterior. But they contain considerable power for their size…and without it…' He couldn't finish the statement, but he didn't need to. They all understood.

'Lucemon was reborn, but weaker than he thought,' Bokomon said in awe. 'And that makes it easier to fight and defeat him once and for all.'

'You fool!' Lucemon roared, and blasted the orb apart. The resultant wave struck them all, pushed them back and left them all sprawled on the ground.

* * *

><p>Koji was the first up, crawling to his feet and rushing over to his twin's unmoving form. The confusion had fast fled from his mind when witnessing the attack; there was no inconceivable way the warrior of darkness could have been accidently struck by it – he was <em>behind<em> the Demon Lord for God's sake. Which could only mean he had thrown himself between them…to save them…

And from those words, he'd been pretending, faking all along… The data, pushing them away…it had all been to weaken Lucemon, to take away the mortar that held the bricks together and swipe a few bricks in the process so the standing fortress would be an illusion of strength and simply that.

He picked the motionless form up into his lap and shook him. 'Koichi. Koichi!'

The other mumbled something in reluctance, before another shake forced him to open his eyes a crack, just enough to see his twin's own brimming with tears.

'I guess…I couldn't make you…hate me after…all.'

Koji's eyes widened involuntarily at that. 'You –'

'I thought…' The eyes slipped closed again, voice coming out no louder than a sigh. 'Maybe if you…hated me…you wouldn't…cry…' The eyes forced themselves open again, one hand struggling to reach up to the salty tracks that came free. 'And you wouldn't have to…anything of mine…'

Koji was sure he had missed something there, but there was no time to consider what.

'But at least…I don't have to…all alone…It's selfish…but I'll be happy…no more suffering…' The hand dropped.

The younger twin was starting to get a picture he most certainly didn't want to see.

'Don't talk like that!' he cried. 'And honestly! Of all the times in the world for you to be selfish, does it have to be _now!_ And what about Mum and Dad! What about me? And your friends?'

'Look at what I did to my friends.' And that was said so quietly it was almost like a knife cutting through the air for they all heard it without the least bit of strain. 'Mum and Dad…have you…and you…have your friends…Good friends…' He closed his eyes; a droplet of water fell on his cool skin.

'Koichi!' Koji cried in panic.

'Yeah..?'

His mind was a whirlwind of emotions, but somehow his mouth knew which question to ask. Or perhaps it simply selected a phrase at random and let the ball roll on.

'Do…do you hate me?'

He felt like a small child, looking up at their parents after doing something bad. But in a sense he was small, young that is – twelve was not old at all and far too young to witness death…

Or maybe Koichi was kidding around with him. When they were children he had always had a weird sense of humour.

Yeah, that sounded about right…

'No…but I thought you…it was easier…I…suppose…'

'Guys!' Takuya's voice suddenly interrupted them. 'Watch out!'

Koji looked up to see another orb of light hurtling to them. Koichi didn't move, but a dark light slipped out of his body and the spirits of darkness were suddenly in between the twins and certain doom, to specks of darkness creating a fork in the powerful stream of light as it broke apart.

'Hurry…Koji…' The voice was so quiet the other could barely hear. 'Don't…look back…'

Data encircled them at that point, slipping into the spirits of darkness that shielded them. The human form slumped, losing all power to hold himself while the fractal code met the spirits and the D-tector fell from his jacket pocket with a soft clatter before dissolving as well.

Lopmon cried out from where the Celestial Digimon had sought shelter along with Bokomon and Neemon. He flew over therafter, accompanied with the others as the remaining warriors quickly evolved again to cover – even if they were all shaking inside.

Koji was too, shaking both inward and outwardly. For the longest moment he expected the body in his arms to twitch, or seize, or do _something_. And now that he thought about it, he'd never actually seen his brother having a seizure…after all those times…

For some reason, that seemed like a really significant point to realise…too late.

Salamon jumped onto the motionless chest, glowing a gentle orange. Lopmon wrapped himself around the head.

'Don't worry,' the brown and pink bunny said after a small pause. 'We'll look after Koichi; he'll be okay.'

_He'll be okay_…

'Right, okay.' Koji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Koichi was just unconscious; he could deal with that.

And Lucemon…Lucemon was definitely going down, because he had hurt one too many people, and somebody had to make sure it would accomplish something in the end. Maybe Koichi was right. Maybe they couldn't have stopped him, because eventually, maybe once they were all gone, he could have come out with no-one to oppose him.

The spirits of darkness winked at him in the air. He stretched a hand to them; they came, easily, as if they were born to be his as much as his twin's.

'I summon light…' Lucemon's voice, piercing through a gentle haze of grey.

_Light…and darkness…_

His D-tector began to glow. The remains of the fallen D-tector mimicked the motion, releasing a swirl of data that made the orb of light blink out and Lucemon stretch.

A ball of ice and thunder pushed him away as the dark spirits scanned themselves and combined within the small computer, releasing a burst of energy that swallowed the humans just as a 'Paradise Lost' would have rained upon them.

* * *

><p>Lucemon wasn't pleased to see where the elusive data had would up; the D-tectors were well designed and they were thus invulnerable to his influence. And the warrior of darkness, although he hated to admit it, had scored against him, sacrificing his own spirits and possibly his life as well to create the God who stood above all Digimon.<p>

But he was still confident in his abilities, and no God who had done nothing to earn the respect or worship of his disciples would stand above him.

'So you've returned to the Digital World at last,' he said conversationally. 'Susanoomon.'

The other digimon simply gaped in wordless shock.

'I must say…' the Demon Lord continued. 'That you've chosen a rather ill fated time.'

'I come only when I am needed,' was the reply from an androgynous voice, neither male nor female. 'And only to those who possess true mastery over life and death.'

Lucemon frowned. 'I hold all the data of the digital world in my hand. I hold light in my right…' He raised a palm and gathered photons into it. 'And darkness in the other.'

Susanoomon shook his head. 'Light and darkness are more than the power of light and darkness you control. There are many things you do not have: hope, fear, regret…love. Giving life and taking it is not as simple a matter as transferring data and reshaping it. This is why humans were fated to save our world when we ourselves brought it to ruin.'

The Demon scowled, releasing the orbs. Light encased the God first, followed by darkness. The Celestial Digimon quickly fashioned a shield between them, saving the unconscious human and the remaining digimon from backlash.

'You are weak Lucemon,' Susanoomon said calmly. 'Weak and incomplete. You needed the data of the digital world, and even then the little denied to you is enough to weaken your power considerably. You should have able to kill all five humans with your first blast, and yet when one human took five times that power they survived it still. And this combination of light and darkness, the attack you call "Dead or Alive" is not nearly enough to break down my form as you hope –'

A sword slashed through the orb, aiming for Lucemon's chest.

A powerful beat of wings sent him away. 'Paradise Lost!'

A barrage of kicks and punches descended upon Susanoomon, but the God of Warriors remained still, accepting them all.

'Your fault…is that you did not take the opportunity to grow.'

The sword came up again, and Lucemon was forced to stop.

'I will end this now. And do not think you will go to a higher level; you lack the data for it.'

The statement was so bland it could be nothing but the truth, and Lucemon roared in fury that it was so. How easily he had been thwarted in the end!

'It can't be!'

Susanoomon raised his arms to the heavens. 'Ten God Dragon!'

Light and darkness exploded and for a moment the thunderous dragons grappled with the heist of Lucemon's powers. But Susanoomon proved correct after all; not only were his powers after absorbing the Digital World incomplete, but he was only one seventh of Hell and he, Susanoomon, was the entirety of Heaven.

Victory _could_ only come with acceptance, and growth. The humans had done that, and so the victory went to them.

'Celestial Blade!'

The sword swung in a perfect arc, and Lucemon cried out once more as his body was sliced, streams of data escaping from the two halves and becoming an orb in the distance…

…that slowly expanded and filled a new Digital World. One that looked the same as the old, simply more complete.

And Susanoomon watched, before releasing the little data he safeguarded as well with a word of thanks to the humans who had made it possible and an apology for the suffering they had undergone. The brown eyes lingered for a moment amidst the dark space and the still prone form, and he knew that things would quickly twist once more when a chapter was added to the end.

But he also knew the ending would be one that would make everyone happy, for while he was a God of the Digital World, it was humans who summoned his power and wielded it where digimon had proved incapable of doing so.

And then he too faded away, returning to the heavens where he watched over the world again, hoping for its peace while waiting for the inevitable day his aid would be called upon again, by the union of light and darkness upon the hinges of life and death.

The children too would learn soon, that life and death were not as clear cut as they appeared. And that would be the last lesson from the Digital World to them.

With that thought, he opened up a Gate before vanishing completely. That was a lesson they would learn in their own world.


	23. Society's Drawn Paradox

Author's Notes

Yutaka finally gets his scene. I like writing him rather lot, considering he's a minor character and all.

Man this took all week…between pharmacology. But considering the length, and the fact that my muses are pretty much non functional (a good thing because these past exams are _hard_), it's understandable. And Koichi, for once in his life (or mine strictly), was difficult to write. Oh well, he was bound to get me at some point; he's the only character I _don't_ have trouble writing…normally.

And that's it from me. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K &Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 22<span>

Society's Drawn Paradox

It was a strange sensation, becoming Susanoomon. In a sense it was like being in a dream-like state where the body moved without conscious thought, simply obeying need. But coming out of that state was even stranger, for their will and form were returned to them in a dizzying hurry, and as five bodies split into one they each felt tendrils of foreign things slip away.

Perhaps that meant they understood each other a little better. Or perhaps that meant the aftereffects were a little disorienting. The first step caused them to stumble, but each was caught and supported by a smiling fusion spirit…and four more spirits, those they didn't recongise, stood behind.

They must have been the fusion forms of water, wood, earth and metal.

And Reichmon was with the Celestial Digimon; Lopmon sat on top of his head and Salamon was curled up on the crook of his arm. Patamon sat on the opposing shoulder, the arm under his human's knees while the other supported his upper form, carrying him bridal style.

Koji made to speak.

'Lucemon's attack did no lasting damage,' the fusion-evolved warrior of darkness replied, voice as deep has it had previously been but now containing an additional…level of sorts.

Surprisingly, it was Takuya who spoke. 'That's a relief.' A pause. 'I can't believe Lucemon did that though; humans don't come back. Not like digimon.' The brunet looked at the reborn digital world. 'Will it be okay now?'

'It's better than okay,' Aldamon's voice said in his ear. 'And we'll look after it.'

'You'd better. Saving the world once was _hard_.'

The two warriors of flame chuckled. JetSilphymon rolled her eyes. 'Boys,' she sighed, looking at Zoe. 'Don't worry. I'll keep them in check.'

'_We'll_ keep them in check,' the mermaid laughed, wagging a finger at a put-out looking Aldamon and an innocent-looking Daipenmon. 'And don't you try that innocent look on me Daipenmon.'

The look slipped off as the four females, Salamon included, giggled at the expense of the males present.

'I think we had best send the children home before continuing this discussion,' the knight of mirrors – who really looked like the chess piece – interrupted. 'The Gate will be closing soon.'

The warriors fell silent, gazing at the golden glow.

'He's right,' Beowolfmon said finally. 'You all need to return to your own world now; it was only because of Lucemon weakening this world's defences that we…well, they…' He waved a hand at the Celestial Digimon. '…were able to bring you here.'

'But it's so…sudden,' Tommy exclaimed.

'Good things don't last forever kid,' Daipenmon replied. 'But that's what makes them special.'

'I guess so.' And he smiled, albeit sniffing a little. 'Ack, I still want to cry.'

They laughed at that, even though Zoe rubbed a few teardrops from her own eyes.

'I do wish we'd have a little more time.'

'But we've grown so much thanks to what we already had.' JP grinned at RhinoKabuterimon. 'I know I'll always be grateful for that…even though it won't be easy going back to our world.'

'No,' RhinoKabuterimon replied. 'But in the end, you'll all be happier. I know it.'

'You'd best be going now.' The fusion evolved warrior of earth's voice came out rather gravelly.

When the humans didn't move in the microsecond that followed, their partners did, pushing them quickly towards the gateway Susanoomon had opened up for them. Reichmon was the most hesitant of them all, but Koichi shifted and woke in the moment he was to let go –

Brown eyes met blue, and in an instant the human understood. 'No!' he cried, eyes wide.

'You have to go back,' Reichmon replied, letting go. 'Don't give…' The noise of the portal swallowed the rest of his words…

But rest of the Digital World heard too. '…up. That world still has something for you, so you can be happy too…'

* * *

><p>The light was blinding, stabbing into his brain like needles striking with the force of a mallet. He'd hit his head before; it was somewhat unavoidable when you could lose control of your body at any moment, but never had it hurt as much as it was then. Never had the <em>light<em> hurt as much as it did at that point.

He forced himself to his feet, resisting the urge to throw up then and there. His head spun; his body contrarily trembled and not from the strain of keeping him upright. Somehow the feeling was almost foreign…even if he'd had auras so many times throughout his life that it had become a second nature to him.

He took one step, then another and hurried the pace once he was sure the ground wasn't going to slip out from under him. When voices hailed him he ignored them. When an arm grabbed him he shrugged out of that with a hiss.

'Koichi –'

'Leave me alone,' he snapped, turning around.

'How about you explain – ouch!'

'JP! This isn't the time!'

Koichi turned away again.

'Koichi –' That time it was his brother's voice, but surprisingly it was no harder to deny.

'I told you all to leave me alone.' He took another step and something jingled in his pocket. The house keys. Suddenly, they were burning and he yanked them viciously out of his body and tossed them towards the sound, uncaring of where they slipped…or who they hit.

He heard them hit metal when they turned. The trembling increased, and the light clawed at his eyes. Something desperate welled up inside of him. He had to get out of there now!

'Ko –'

He bolted, taking the stairs far faster than he should have but caring only for getting _out_.

* * *

><p>Koji chased after his brother, taking the stairs just as fast and slipping. Luckily though his friends had been right behind and JP caught his arm.<p>

'Thanks,' the younger twin said quietly.

JP shook his head. 'I swear I will never understand your brother.'

'Uhh…guys?' Zoe had made it to the bottom of the flight with Takuya and was now looking around. 'I can't tell which way he went and this place is _packed_.'

The others joined him.

'I guess we'll just have to split up,' Takuya said. 'Let's see…there's a level under this one and that should be less crowded. How about Zoe and I take that one, and you guys handle this level?'

They nodded and split up, Koji wishing he knew why his brother seemed so…upset.

_Is it leaving the Digital World behind…or something else?_

Somehow, he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that the words the other had said to him after Lucemon's attack had seemed like a permanent farewell.

* * *

><p>The good part of disabled toilets, Koichi half-amusedly noted to himself, was that they were spacious and there were no huge gaps at the bottom so someone could come and find you when you didn't want to be found. The downside was that their doors weren't like normal ones; instead of just pushing them open you had to press a button on the side.<p>

So of course leaning on the door heavily wasn't going to accomplish anything, but luckily he managed to register the "press here to open" button before his limbs gave out on him.

He couldn't bring himself though to get up and check to make sure he'd locked the door thereafter. The room was still spinning, the light still hurting his head – the automated lights just _had_ to turn on – and his stomach was still aching to expel a breakfast and lunch he hadn't even had.

He closed his eyes, wishing it all away. He hated it. _Hated_ it. And it was far worse now that he'd lived a bit without it.

Unbidden tears welled in his eyes. _Why did the Digital World have to make me…happy?_

Before he through it all away, because he didn't want to pay the price that would come from prolonged happiness. He didn't want to pay any price, to wait for any hope…because what was left?

He didn't think he could take any more.

Tears blurred his vision, before blacking it entirely.

* * *

><p>They met under the giant clock.<p>

'Damn it,' Koji cursed. 'Where is he?'

The others shrugged helplessly. 'I even checked the bathroom,' Takuya said helpfully. 'And got yelled at by some old man.'

'I did _not_ check the girls ones,' Zoe added immediately, a slight blush coating her cheeks. 'I mean, the station probably would have been screamed down if a guy had entered the girls' bathrooms, and while Koichi's cute and all I don't think he would have passed for a girl at first sight.' The scuffs of her sneakers skipped along the ground.

Koji hadn't even thought of the bathrooms, but they were the easiest place to avoid someone.

'I checked the ones on this floor,' JP spoke up, telling the younger twin he had managed to zone out. 'Of course, he could have snuck past us and gone upstairs again…or left entirely…'

Takuya face-palmed his forehead at that. 'I hadn't thought –'

'Maybe we should leave him alone for now,' Tommy said suddenly. 'He'll probably go home when he's feeling better.'

And that was all they could do…unless…

'Can't you call his cell?'

Koji tried. His mother picked up; he hurriedly made an excuse and hung up.

'He left it at home.'

'I guess you better go there yourself then.' Zoe looked at him.

'Yeah…' He lifted his head and blinked a little at the hand outstretched.

'Your phone silly.'

'Oh.' He placed the cell into her open palm, and she set about entering her details into it.

'We really should keep in contact. Especially as I'm not in the same school stream as you guys.'

'Where do you go?' JP asked.

'Girls only,' Zoe said dismissively, handing Koji's phone back…until Takuya snatched it out of her hands and placed his there instead. 'The rest of you?'

'We're in the same stream,' JP said. 'Except…I'm not sure about Tommy.'

'Same stream,' Tommy nodded. 'Does Katsuharu still go there?'

'Yep.' JP wondered what he would say to the other the next time they met. He understood both himself and the concept of friendship a lot better; undoubtedly that would change things between them. Not that they really had a relationship to begin with.

'Oh brother…' Tommy groaned. 'Then I'll probably see him at soccer training.'

'You'll be seeing me too.' Takuya clamped his friend on the back. 'And my little brother too.' He looked at Koji. 'You too?'

Koji let a smile slide across his face. 'Yep.'

Zoe clapped her hands. 'Then I'll have to come and cheer you on.' She looked at JP. 'You too?'

'No way.' The brunette shook his head. 'I'd rather vanish the ball than kick it.'

They laughed at that.

'Do you think Koichi will play?' Takuya asked.

'Koichi never plays sports,' Koji replied, smile slipping a little. 'I thought it was because of his epilepsy, but Dad say he could if he wanted to…if the weather's alright.'

JP shook his head. 'I'm still not sure what he pulled off in the Digital World. I know he managed to trick us and Lucemon and maybe even Cherubimon in one swoop…but…' He shook his head. 'Hang on, I was about to talk myself into a circle. But I feel like I'm still missing something.'

'You and me both,' Koji muttered. 'And I wish I knew what it was.'

* * *

><p>A knocking on the door aroused him and he blinked blearily, and somewhat painfully, at the door. For a moment his mind was blank; why was someone knocking on his door. It was a long standing rule in their house that his door was never to be locked. Made him wonder why the lock still existed; he did forget from time to time so surely it would be easier to remove the lock entirely.<p>

Then he blinked. His door was not white. And in the rare instance where he did have a light on in his room, it was never so bright and piercing. Then he blinked a second time, mind finally realising he was not in his bedroom but in Shibuya Station…

And he pulled himself to his feet with a groan, brain finally registering the circumstances. His hands automatically went to the pocket, searching for the strip of pills he always carried around with him; they came up with an empty foil package, seals broken.

So he'd used them all and hadn't replaced them. He looked the packet for a short moment before disposing of it, crossing the warm tiles for the sink instead.

It took a minute or two (undisturbed, he belatedly noted; the knocker must have given up on occupancy) for the room to realign itself, even if the light was still prickling his senses and Goosebumps persisting under his school shirt. He wasn't shivering any more though…or he didn't think he was; his senses had a habit of getting scrambled, for lack of a better term, and he simply didn't have the willpower to sort them out.

He ignored the mirror to stare at the dryer, then quickly abandoned it and simply pressed the button with wet hands. Suddenly, the white tiles seemed oppressing, the room far smaller than it had been from the floor and he wanted nothing more than to leave it behind.

He had no idea of where he wanted to go though.

* * *

><p>Several people hailed him, both in the station and on the street but he ignored them…or rather didn't hear them. His pace was surprisingly fast for someone without aim; he randomly turned corners or changed direction, paying the surroundings no heed till the sky began changing colour, reflecting off the metal rails and the large screens that surrounded him.<p>

It was when the orange hit his eyes that he stopped walking and just stood in the middle of the street. His legs decided to scream in protest; his mind decided to entertain the yelling match. In short, he was tired but he didn't want to _be_ anywhere, or rather anywhere long enough to stop walking.

He was confused. And bitter, though he couldn't really place the second emotion. Not that he was particularly eager to try; he wasn't keen on attempting to work anything out, just wandering around till some God-sent answer dropped at his feet or he could go numb again…

Why did his own plan have to backfire on him?

He started walking again, leaving the main road and crossing through the park for the simple reason that it was there. Perhaps a more rational mind would have also pointed out the lesser metallic surfaces, but he was tired of avoiding places, tired of taking precautions which ultimately didn't seem to amount to anything.

Eventually he was going to have to think though; he couldn't exactly walk around to nowhere forever…unless fate decided to stop being cruel.

He looked up at that point, finding himself outside the library.

And being hailed again. By a stranger he presumed as no-one was calling his name (which was a relief because that was something he _didn't_ want), but considering he appeared to be the only person still in school uniform in the close vicinity, it was a given.

He supposed he should have been glad no-one was calling "the kid who looked like he was going to collapse on his feet" anymore, but...

He only stopped when somebody grabbed his arm.

'Sorry,' the speaker panted, the other hand desperately attempting to balance an assortment of notebooks and stray papers. 'I'm afraid I don't know your name, but I do see you in there pretty regularly.' He let go of the other's arm and waved at the building. Luckily, the brunet pressed on before Koichi could think of reacting…or a reaction for that matter. 'The librarian said you've loaned a book I need, and…' He paused for breath. '…you're probably done with it?'

He couldn't even remember what books he had under his name. Nor did the title the other rattled off strike any bells whatsoever. He said as much, only to received a concerned look in return.

'Are you..?' the brunet began, before quickly changing gears. 'Let's go for ice-cream.'

'Ice-cream?' Koichi repeated.

'My treat. Particularly considering I'm the one inconveniencing you.'

* * *

><p>Yutaka looked at his…not exactly reluctant but it was difficult to come up with a fitting descriptor, companion. The boy was a familiar sight by that point; the brunet had been coming to the local library since he was four and on his own by six, and he'd seen the other first enter in his second year of junior high school. He'd just started college, which meant the other should be in the seventh grade.<p>

It was very interesting watching somebody grow from afar, but seeing somebody at least three times a week made an impression, even if they had never conversed before. It was a way to pick up things on observation alone, and that was something he was particularly good at. For example he'd seen the medical tag the other constantly wore, oft hidden beneath long sleeves. It had taken him more than a year actually; he had thought for the longest time it was simply a bracelet. And then there were the choice of books; many lost interest in fantasy after a few years, and he knew very few people able to pick up the encyclopaedias on the last shelf and read them at that young an age. Sure, the other did read quite a few other sorts of books as well – hence his problem actually as one of the books he needed for his psychology paper was currently in the other's hands – but fantasies appeared to be a firm favourite.

He was also sure he knew the reason for that medical bracelet…and therefore had an inkling as to why the other looked so down and…overall disregarding. On the downside he wasn't overly good with dealing with people, even with a little brother of his own, which all in all made his career choice a tad more challenging.

'You don't like vanilla?' he asked, wondering if he had been wrong. The other hadn't given a coherent response when he had asked, forcing him to make an educated guess.

The other's sundae was now a melted masterpiece…or mess, depending on who was looking. The other had dipped and removed the spoon several times, but the motion seemed more mechanical than passionate.

'It's fine,' the other said quietly, sticking another tiny spoonful into his mouth for emphasis…or coincidence as was more likely.

'I didn't think you would like chocolate…or orange, although maybe chocolate…' Yutaka broke off when he realised how creepy that was making him sound. 'Ahh, not that I'm…err…' He stopped talking entirely before he dug himself into a deeper hole.

Or _a_ hole as it appeared the other hadn't cared to put such implications onto his badly-worded dialogue. 'What makes you say that?' was the only acknowledgement he gave; his mind seemed elsewhere.

'Chocolate and orange are strong flavours,' Yutaka explained, taking a little more care with his words this time round. His little brother was one thing, a pseudo-stranger another entirely. 'You look like you would enjoy more subtleties.'

The other finally lifted his eyes to get a good look at him: blue and dark like the ocean deep, hiding a world straining against shores beneath.

_That_ he hadn't seen before, but he could warrant a guess. Not that it was favourable. Or his place.

'What makes you say that?' the other asked again, tone unchanging.

Yutaka shrugged a little. 'You don't see somebody at least three times week for six years and not figure out something about them.' When the unnerving gaze did not shift, he pressed on. 'Like you always seem to enjoy fantasy books the most, even if you're capable of reading far more advanced material. But it doesn't seem like it's any strain on your mind to suddenly switch to higher level textbooks after a children's story or any lack of engagement on the latter, so I assume there's something deeper than straight-forward words and stories that captivates you.'

'You know most people would be disturbed by that level of observance.'

'Should I be disturbed by the fact that this conversation topic has managed to engage you?' Yutaka returned wryly.

The pre-teen barely reacted to that. For all means and purposes that could warrant quite a stimulating conversation…if either party was interested in discussing something academic. In fact, Yutaka realised he wasn't been entirely accurate when he said "engaged"; it seemed the other had merely said that for the sake of saying something at all.

But thoughtless statements were fascinating in and of themselves, and the tone implied he was not one of "most" as he had asserted.

'What are you interested in?' the psychology student asked bluntly.

'Interested?' the other repeated, as if it were a foreign word before reverting his gaze to the melted sundae.

'Well, passionate about I suppose…'

* * *

><p><em>Passionate about?<em>

What was he really passionate about? The question rolled over in Koichi's mind, providing no answers no matter how many times he looked at it. He didn't play any sports. He was good at school, but that was simply because there was little else for him to do than engage in books and knowledge. Video games and computers were extremely limited, and considering the latter was often required for school and more so in later years, he forewent the former entirely. He could only play chess with the same people so many times and there was never someone at the tables in the library when he was there. No doubt they were all at chess-clubs or something similar.

And the lonely library corners held more appeal than the local chess club.

As for the books…obviously there were some he enjoyed more than others but they were in the end just a way to occupy time.

He half-smiled. _How sad. Such a straight-forward question and I can't come up with a single answer._

'I apologise for being so forward.' The boy's brown eyes bore into his own, and Koichi got the feeling he had guessed far more than he showed.

Not that it was particularly concerning. He had nothing worth hiding.

'I probably shouldn't have offered something cold when you're already shivering,' the other said unexpectedly.

'I'm not cold,' Koichi replied absentmindedly, before pausing and looking up. The small artificial lights winked down at him, dim in the time so close to sunset. He frowned slightly, but neither averted his eyes nor glared at them.

'Uhh…I know this is none of my business but should you really be doing that?'

Koichi didn't hear him, simply pushing aside his chair and standing. 'Thank you,' he said formally, bowing with perfect politeness but no real deep gratitude. 'If you can wait for half an hour I'll –'

'I think I'd better come with you,' he companion hurriedly said, abandoning his (almost finished) dish as well.

'Suit yourself,' the pre-teen said without changing tone.

* * *

><p><em>Offhand comments are a Godsent,<em> Yutaka decided. Most people wouldn't had picked it up, but he had seen the other (and he was going to ask for a name the next chance he got) long enough to realise that shivering not due to the cold was somewhat regular, and usually accompanied by pills. Those were absent. He also, when combining the knowledge to his usual aversion to strong light sources, could guess that the shivering was a pre-emptive aura stage for an epileptic attack, and no doubt one triggered by certain intensities of light. In fact, he was almost certain of that, having seen the other stare blankly at the same page for minutes longer than his reading speed accounted for, and even at the scene for longer than warranted…like he had mid conversation.

And while he knew absence seizures weren't life-threatening, he certainly did not like the idea of letting somebody so obviously in an aura stage out alone. Particularly as it would make two within an hour.

Sadly though, he couldn't recall if that was any more detrimental than one. Rather, he didn't think he'd ever come across that knowledge…or needed to know it.

He was sure though the other looked a lot worse off than a single seizure; he didn't even notice many a time if the scene hadn't changed too drastically, although he would be sure to put a hand to his temples as though his head was aching.

Somebody else might have found it remarkable, or perverted, how much he knew about the other…but then again, they didn't know him. Or his little brother.

But he was in for a shock when he arrived home. Even if he was woefully ignorant as he followed the other, presumably to his home.

At least his earlier assumption that the other looked…well, sick, was well supported by the comments that managed to follow. Some were concerned. Some were entirely unsympathetic, and from the snatches of conversation he managed to grasp it appeared they thought the other was stumbling around in a drug-induced haze. Then there were some who, blatantly ignoring the lack of physical resemblance, thought the brunet to be the older brother…which he was, just not to the dark-haired boy he was following.

Still, it was a tad unnerving how the other ignored them all as though he didn't hear them. Nor had he been paying attention to the streets…so it was lucky the roads weren't particularly busy at that time of night. Still, it was somehow far different to running after Tommy and making sure he didn't get into trouble…which was to be expected as they were still strangers in most senses.

So it was a relief when a gate was pushed open without any major incident…even though the situation was new in and of itself. What was shocking though was a physically identical face opening the door. Only the structure was harder and more forward, and there was far more light in the sharper eyes.

'Koichi!' the one who opened the door exclaimed.

_So it won't be necessary to ask a name after all_, Yutaka thought to himself.

'Where have you been?' the speaker pressed on. 'We looked every –'

Koichi brushed past him without a word.

The boy who looked like him started to say something, then changed his mind, turning to Yutaka instead. 'Who are you?' he asked bluntly.

'Yutaka Himi,' the brunet replied. 'I just need to borrow a library book from…Koichi.'

'Himi?' the boy blinked, surprised. 'Are you Tommy's brother?'

'You know my brother?' Now Yutaka was the one surprised.

'We both do.' The boy pointed inside where the other had disappeared. 'I'm Koji Minamoto. That was my elder twin.' He paused. 'Where did you find him?'

_Find…implying he was lost. Not far from the truth, even if in a different sense…_

'Outside the library,' Yutaka replied aloud. 'Which was good, since I –' He cut himself off as Koichi appeared again, gripping the banister more tightly than was required till he was back on the first floor.

'Is this the book?' he asked quietly, holding it up to display.

Yutaka nodded and took it with a word of thanks. 'Let's meet up another day,' he offered.

'I don't think that would be a good idea.' Koichi bowed again. 'Please excuse me.'

'Koichi –' Koji began.

'I'm going to bed.'

It only took one look for Koji to leave the matter alone. It looked like the other _really_ needed some rest.

But still, the sound of his bedroom door upstairs clicking was a sound of finality he didn't want to hear.

And Yutaka was silently watching the exchange, feeling like he was in a situation he didn't particularly want to be in.


	24. Self-Destructing

Author's Notes

I would start NaNo seven days late and with another exam to go along with my first actual job. But I can do it! And hopefully finish this fic this month too; one more actual chapter and then the epilogue. Or I may need the additional chapter. I don't know yet.

I forgot whether or not I named the dog or not, so I'm naming him Ookami as I usually do nowadays and I'm hoping that doesn't wind up being inconsistent. I don't fancy reading through twenty three chapters to find a name; I'm hopeless at that.

Hopefully I will get the next chapter out on time.

And that's it from me. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 23<span>

Self-Destructing

The Minamoto parents arrived home only a little later to Koji hanging up the phone, but by then the only thing that looked out of the ordinary was their younger son moping on the couch as opposed to his room.

'Koji?' Tomoko asked, concerned. 'Is something the matter?' Spying a second set of shoes, she added: 'Koichi?'

'I'm fine,' Koji mumbled. 'Koichi's in his room.'

'Already?'

'Well…he just got back, so…'

Kousei looked curiously at his son. Koji certainly was being more accommodating with information regarding his brother. 'Did anything happen between you two?'

'I suppose you can say we had a fight.'

* * *

><p><em>That was an understatement,<em> Koji thought ruefully. But it wasn't as though he could explain the Digital World to his parents; they was surely a reason for only children being on the underground platform. And while he felt he had grown up a deal, and attained some very precious friends, he still did not understand the changes his brother had gone through.

…except the dreaded feeling his brother had fully intended _not_ to awaken from that final battle. Maybe it was like having to live with the things he had done, things he didn't seem proud of at all even if his plan had ultimately been the successful one. He had hurt to protect, killed to save…Koji was sure it was perfectly natural if that all crashed upon his brother, but to explain that…and what had been disturbing him before they'd even arrived…

…that day, because somehow time had only shifted by twenty minutes between that when they entered the lowest platform and when they emerged on the ground level. Which was a relief to note, even if it had failed to register in his initial panic, elsewise there would have been far more explaining to do as to why they'd been missing for months.

Still, he had to explain _something_…

'You see, we were at the…arcade…' He hesitated at the final word, but he couldn't exactly say there was a multi-player virtual reality game in the basement of Shibuya Station, nor could he come up with any other convenient excuse. 'Well, we kind of bumped into each other there.'

Tomoko sat down; she had a feeling it was going to be a long story. Kousei however remained standing. When he sat after work, he preferred it to be with a nice cup of tea or wine before dinner…should his wife allow him the latter (which she didn't in most cases).

'Go on,' the woman said with a little verbal push when the other stopped talking.

'Uhh…' Koji fumbled for words. 'It was a kind of…saving the world game. Some prototype I suppose.' That last part was added purely so why no-one would question its future absence. 'I met some other people there too…and Takuya was there…and we kind of became a team as we…'

'Fought the bad guys?' Kousei asked dryly.

'Well…yeah.'

'With superpowers?'

'Really Kousei, don't act like a child or I'll send you to the arcade _with_ the boys next time.'

'No thank you.'

Koji glanced between his parents during the soft banter. 'Uhh…anyway…' Somehow, the banter made it both easier and harder. 'We kind of did the typical clichéd thing. Like…' When he failed to come up with a better explanation, he mimicked his father. 'Fought the bad guys. But Koichi and I somehow got separated and he wound up…joining the bad guys instead and…well, kind of double-crossing them. Which worked while our victories amounted to nothing in the end.'

'So somewhere in the game you two wound up fighting each other?' Tomoko deduced.

'Well, it was more like me getting the cr–' At both parents glares, he immediately rephrased. '…stuffing knocked out of me. But there was…other stuff involved, and he didn't really have the chance to give us a full explanation before the…main bad guy –' His voice caught in his throat despite his efforts. He wondered how it would have be if the other _hadn't_ been merely unconscious, but – ' – knocked him out.'

Both parents looks were entirely serious now; any playfulness had evaporated into the air. 'Are you alright?' Tomoko asked after a brief pause.

'He – huh?' Koji, to whom the question registered a tad late, blinked. 'Am _I_ alright?'

His mother blinked, but nodded.

The younger twin, quite unexpectedly, laughed. 'I'm an idiot,' he mumbled to himself, shaking his head before raising his voice. 'I'm fine Mum. Better than fine actually, except…well…I'm worried about Koichi.'

Kousei sighed. 'We're all worried, but you know your brother. He shuts himself up like a clam when something bothers him.'

Somehow, Koji felt that wasn't an adequate explanation. A dam maybe, because he was sure he'd seen more than just stagnant air. But clams didn't really release their interior unless to be eaten…or by force. And the contents of forced clams were toxic. He remembered _that_ well enough from his father's little experiment in the kitchen.

'But I don't get _what_ is bothering him.'

His parents looked at each other, then back at you. 'Koichi…didn't say anything.'

'He said a bunch of stuff,' Koji responded, a tad sarcastically. 'None of it making much sense without a context.'

The Minamoto adults exchanged glances again, before his father replied. 'Have you noticed Koichi's been having more seizures than usual lately, even while taking his medication? And getting sick more often as well?'

Koji nodded slowly; he did know his brother had been spending an inordinate amount of time at home from school recovering from something or other, even if he had never paid attention to the specifics before.

'When we went to the Doctor for his checkup on Sunday…' Kousei closed his eyes. 'He doesn't believe a stronger medication will do any more than provide temporary relief, and the side-effects are quite significant for a child.' He paused a moment before adding: 'Whatever you two may think, twelve is still childhood.'

Silence greeted him. Tomoko was now playing with the front of her skirt, looking like a nervous young girl as opposed to a mother of two.

'What else did the Doctor say?' Koji asked, finally.

'Well…' His father paused for breath. 'He wants to try an operation,' he explained. 'It will involve cutting through a part of your brother's brain. You know how epilepsy involves an overload of sensory information.'

That was one part of science he would have no trouble with, come junior high school, thanks to his brother.

'That information crosses over the two parts of the brain, so by separating them the seizures should stop entirely or at least lessen in severity. But…' He closed his eyes. 'Cutting into a person's brain is very…dangerous.'

'And Koichi…knows about this?'

'Of course.' This time, it was Tomoko who spoke. 'It concerned him after all.'

Now Koji was starting to see why his brother had been so on edge. To Koichi the two choices must have seemed like a rock and a hammer or thereabouts.

* * *

><p>Thunder woke Koji the following morning. He shot out of his bed like an arrow before registering it was not his father knocking on the door but rather nature knocking outside. After finding it was ample time to shower and dress before his father woke him up – and not worth heading back under the covers for another twenty minutes, particularly considering he hadn't succeeded in completing his math homework for the day – he pulled his pyjama shirt off before extracting clean boxers, socks and a singlet from his drawer.<p>

Fifteen minutes later, he was merrily showered, dressed in his school uniform and brushing his hair. His brother's door remained firmly closed, and while it wasn't an unusual sight in the mornings Koji couldn't help but frown at it anyway. A part of him was bursting to have a talk with Koichi, especially with the revelations of the previous night. At the same time though another part of him was hesitant to face the inevitable music.

And that was, in all honesty, why he pushed his curtains aside and opened the window to take a breath of the outside world. The air wasn't anywhere near as sweet as the Digital World, even with a storm looming on the horizon. He could smell the scent of rain in the air: the moisture that clung to the tree that linked their windows (their mother claimed to have had nothing to do with that bit of architecture) and his sill as he opened the window.

The wind, quite rudely, blasted his face as soon as he shoved the glass up. He coughed at the unexpectedness, the subtle layer of city pollution drowning out the pure Digital World.

It was something not even the rain could mask. Especially not that sort of rain, slated so it fell through the window and sprinkled on his face like the shower he had, not so long ago, emerged from. They were firm enough so that the world outside looked like a child had scribbled over it so to speak. It was slightly painful – or would have been if his skin was sensitive, which it wasn't – but the curtain of rain did little to obscure the view outside.

Which might have been a good thing, because he wouldn't have otherwise noted that not only was their (or his rather since it was him who had begged for a pet dog) dog awake and lounging under the tree, but so was Koichi.

And Koji was sure he would have stayed in bed after getting soaked yesterday. But regardless, he quickly pulled on his raincoat and slipped out through the back door, missing his father in the kitchen where he was drinking coffee with his normal paper.

'Koichi,' he called quietly, in case his brother had sneaked out too. 'It's raining.'

He felt like an idiot for saying that; up in a tree with barely any shelter, he was sure the other could tell even if his eyes had been closed. Which they weren't, as he was staring up at the dark clouds and the occasional flecks of lightning that shot through the sky.

'You shouldn't be doing that,' Koji continued, when Koichi spared him a brief glance before returning to the sky.

Koichi ignored him. Ookami raised his head and barked before struggling to his feet and shaking himself.

'Kernel, Ookami,' the younger twin scolded, and Ookami looked mournfully at the pair before slinking off to its little house.

Koji stepped closer to the tree, thankful for the branches and bare leaves keeping him at least a little out of the rain. 'Koichi…'

'What?' the other said monotonously.

And somehow, that was more discouraging than telling him to get lost, or something akin. But Koji was past stopping this conversation – even if he was still floundering for a way to start it.

'Can we talk?'

'No.' The same monotone, not that Koji really regarded the answer.

'Okay then, I'll talk and you listen for now.' That worked just as well he supposed; Koichi had never been that much of a talker. 'Why didn't you say something?'

When the rain's pattering began to annoy the younger twin, he remembered the blatant refusal. 'Right, forget that for now. Mum and Dad told me yesterday about the Doctors on Sunday.'

Silence again, except for a bolt of light shooting across the sky and reflecting in two pairs of blue lights. 'And I get it's…well…a rock and a hammer I suppose – oh, you know I stick at metaphors.' He rolled his eyes and stepped a little closer to the tree, enough so that if Koichi fell from the right he would fall on the other. 'And I know it was hard to talk about, especially since I haven't been a good brother and all –' There, he had said it. But now he was getting frustrated with the lack of response. 'But that's no reason to act like _your_ life has no value, and that stunt you pulled in the Digital World!'

And no, he was not going to admit it was Tommy who pointed that fact out, albeit unintentionally. Maybe it was the gaming background, or maybe it had to do with Yutaka, who'd apparently told Tommy and had him call just before his parents arrived home.

At least Koichi reacted to that, jumping down from his perch – on the left side, closer to the fence and away from Koji. Ookami's head poked out from the kernel, observing the twins carefully and whining beneath the pattering of the rain.

'What does it matter?' There was a hint of coldness in the tone. 'It worked.' _You all won, but I lost._

'That's _not_ the point.'

'What does it matter?' was the response.

Koji frowned a little, staring at his brother's back. That was a difficult question to answer, particularly spur on the moment, but frankly he had never expected the question _needed_ asking in the first place. 'It just is,' he said finally. 'You know…' He almost spread his palms like Takuya, but managed to catch himself. It was amazing the things he'd picked up in less than ten minutes of their world's time.

There was a flat 'no,' and then more silence. Koji refused the silent dismissal, instead staying right where he was. He'd dismissed himself too easily in the past, and if he wasn't going to budge it meant that…

Although, it might not have been the best idea to bait his brother, especially since the other was not wearing a coat. Koji mentally berated himself for not grabbing an umbrella – although they were all next to the front door and his father would definitely had caught him, although he wasn't even doing anything wrong.

He shook his head mentally when he realised he was talking himself into loops. 'This is getting nowhere.' He fished around for another conversation topic, perhaps something safer. 'So…read anything interesting in the library lately?'

After a brief pause, he mentally rolled his eyes again. That was about as bad at his starter. Actually, he figured after a brief pause, maybe it wasn't. After all, at least he wasn't stating the obvious. Pointing out the rain when it was raining.

Koji thought suddenly that anyone who read over their conversation would wind up terribly confused. He had, after all, managed to talk, or think rather, himself into a loop on at least one occasion, and Koichi didn't seem the least bit bothered about the rather annoying rain, even if he was shivering a little.

The next statement, or outburst, made the younger twin consider that maybe it wasn't the icy rain that was causing the tremors.

'Why don't you just leave me alone?!'

Koji took a quick step back as the other unexpectedly spun around, emerging from the tree's minimal shelter as a result. The extra rain made it a little harder to keep his eyes open, but did little to impair his vision otherwise save a little colour. Luckily, the rain was slanted at his back, so the back of his head bore most of the assault instead.

'Don't you get it? I don't to _talk _to you! I don't want you here!'

Koji's eyes grew wide with surprise – or maybe shock – but Koichi's were wider, or perhaps it was simply the impression from the paler and more shadowed skin. He was struck speechless too; Koichi rarely lost his temper or yelled at anyone. Not even in the Digital World.

'You said that to me before,' Koji said quietly, his voice a stark contrast. 'A lot of things have changed since –'

'_Nothing's_ changed!' But whatever Koichi was going to say next was interrupted as the back door banged open.

* * *

><p>Kousei stood in the frame, staring blankly at the twins standing on either side of the tree and apparently arguing. If he didn't know better (which he did, thankfully), he would have thought he was mistaking the twins. Although Koji wasn't prone to yelling much, he certainly did it more than the elder twin did. In fact, Kousei wasn't sure he even remembered the last time he had heard Koichi raise his voice above ordinary talking levels.<p>

As surprising as the scene was, he momentarily forgot why he had come out in the first place. While it was perfectly healthy to let of some steam – and preferably outside the coutroom – he did think the twins could have picked a better place and time than in such a flimsy shelter in a storm. Surely they'd learnt about lightning rods by that point, and Koichi had already been soaked enough by the downpour yesterday –

Then he looked at the elder twin more closely and realised what Koji, from lack of experience, hadn't. And he was between them both, one hand on each of their backs and pushing them inside while the umbrella balanced precariously between his ear and shoulder blade.

But Koichi snapped away from him, eyes still wide. 'Don't touch me!'

Kousei's other arm caught Koji by the waist as the umbrella tumbled onto the grass. 'Go get your mother,' he said quietly, and somewhat urgently.

Koji hovered a moment, but his father's body was blocking his view of his brother, and he so he had no reason to disobey.

By the time he came back with his mother (half-dressed for work) in tow and managed to, as per her instruction, put an overexcited Ookami into his collar and back in the kernel, the lightning and rain had stopped, leaving the backyard soaked and dreary and its occupants more so.

He didn't need his father to tell him neither of them would be going to school that morning after all. He did need the other to realise he was trembling though, even if the raincoat was mostly airtight and therefore quite warm.


	25. The Light in the Darkness

Author's Notes

Nearly there. Just the epilogue left now. And Koji's channelling Takuya a little in this chapter, since he's already tried the awkward Koji approach and it didn't work.

So this fic will be done by next Sunday. It's kind of hard to believe, considering how daunting the original plan was. And to think I didn't even cut anything out; just rearranged things.

The second-last paragraph actually relates to Parkinson's disease operations, but I'm going to assume it's for all brain operations.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for the epilogue. And I know I'm being a little evil, but bear with me. :)

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 24<span>

The Light in the Darkness

Takuya almost crashed into Koji outside the room number the other had texted, but luckily the Digital World had taught the pair some quick reflexes. Not that it mattered in retrospect; true the two slices of cake Takuya was carrying in his backpack would have been squashed – and perhaps smeared all over the dual copies of homework sheets – but that was no biggie in retrospect.

In any case, they managed to avoid the collision and simply stood in the hallway, staring at each other.

'School's over already?' Koji said finally.

'Yep,' Takuya replied. 'Tommy wanted to come too, but he said he needed to do something important and might not make it, so he sent the book his brother gave him.'

'The one he borrowed from Koichi.'

'Yep, that's the one…I think.'

Koji closed his eyes. 'Thanks for coming.'

'Hey, no problem.' Takuya grinned. 'I also texted JP and he said he'd try to collect Koichi's homework – plus the stuff he missed on Monday because he's sure Koichi didn't note them down. And Zoe asked if you'd like her to come as well and I texted you but you had your phone turned off and –'

'This _is_ a hospital,' Koji pointed out.

'So do you want her to come?' Takuya held out his own phone; it was still on. 'Since I haven't been in yet, it can stay on.'

Koji stared at the phone, then slowly shook his head.

Takuya snapped it closed and turned it off. 'She expected as much, otherwise she would have come anyway. She said it's probably better for me to be here.' He muttered something else that Koji missed.

'Huh?'

'I said I don't know what I can do that she can't.'

Koji couldn't help but scoff at that. 'Like totally distract me maybe?'

Takuya jumped, then hit his forehead with his palm. 'Oh my God, you're totally right. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.'

As the warrior of light wondered if his partner of flame had lost his senses, Takuya did a little jig on the spot. 'What's going on anyway? You didn't say much in your text, but –'

'Nothing definite.' Somehow, they'd both missed Kousei's arrival. 'The Doctor wants to go ahead with the operation, but Koichi refuses to assent to it.'

'Operation?' Takuya said blankly.

Koji looked almost pleadingly at his father, who obliged and explained.

* * *

><p>The hallways were surprisingly silent as they walked through.<p>

'Hey…Koji?' Takuya said finally.

'Yeah?'

'Can't…can't your parents just sign the form?'

Koji stopped walking. It was true; Koichi wasn't a legal adult therefore they didn't really need his consent for anything. 'They could,' he said finally. 'But they want it to be his choice, and besides, the surgery's not exactly…safe.'

'I think I get what you mean.' The sneaker scuffed along the floor. 'I guess the Digital World must have been like…Paradise, or something. Even despite the mess it was in. And I guess dying a hero does beat…this.' He shifted along uncomfortably.

'I thought the same thing yesterday,' Koji said quietly. 'I just had no idea how to say it.'

Takuya turned around when he realised the other had not resumed following him.

'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked. 'You've got that tone as if something went down.'

Koji almost asked: 'that has a tone?' but managed to restrain himself. Apparently Zoe had been correct about Takuya. But they were trying to have a serious conversation. 'You know me too well,' was what he said instead.

'Of course I do,' Takuya said smugly. 'I'm your best friend, aren't I?'

Koji looked at him. 'Yeah, yeah you are.'

'Good.' Takuya walked back to stand in front of him. 'Now spill.'

'Spill what?'

'What's got your boxers in a twist.'

'_Takuya!_'

Takuya shrugged. 'There's no-one else here to listen,' he pointed out.

'That's true…' He sighed. 'Well, I thought I'd try to talk with Koichi this morning and it blew up in my face.'

'Talk to…' Takuya's face scrunched up. 'Should it be that hard?'

'Way to rub salt in the wound Takuya.'

The brunet laughed sheepishly at that. 'Sorry Koji. But it is hard to imagine _talking_ being heard.'

Koji wisely kept his retort to himself.

'But how did it blow up exactly?'

The younger twin looked at his feet and mumbled something.

'I didn't catch that.'

'I said Koichi yelled at me and then Dad came out and he had a seizure.'

'It runs in the family?' A pause. 'Oh, you mean Koichi had a – hang on, you're not supposed to go to the hospital for that.'

Koji gave him an odd look.

'Some kid on the soccer team.' Takuya waved a hand. 'Absence seizures; you know, he stares at nothing for a few minutes and then acts as if nothing's happened.'

'You make it sound like it's…' Koji said slowly. '…normal.'

'Well, sure.' Takuya shrugged. 'He's a funny guy and a good soccer player too. Just have to make sure the ball's not going for his head when he's spaced out, but we look after our own anyway.'

Koji said nothing to that. Takuya, guessing the reason, accepted the silence.

'But seriously, what made you guys go to the hospital.' Koji still said nothing. 'Uh…hello?'

'He was running a fever from yesterday's rain, and he was sitting in the rain today too,' the warrior of light explained finally. 'And Dad was worried for some reason; he sent me inside for Mum so I missed what actually happened.'

'Probably a good thing,' Takuya said wisely. When Koji gave him an odd look, he explained: 'then you'd be missing your head too.'

* * *

><p>They bumped into Tomoko outside the door. She smiled tiredly at the pair.<p>

'You're Koji's friend, aren't you?' she said. 'I remember you from –'

'We weren't friends then Mum,' Koji cut in.

'Whatever you say.' But the light joking tone was missing. 'We just finished talking to the Doctor.'

'What'd he say?' Takuya asked, after Koji failed to. Granted, in Koji's defence, he hadn't had enough time to formulate the question.

Tomoko looked at Koji; he nodded. 'A lot of things,' she said quietly. 'Mainly, he thinks it's more a psychological problem than a physical one and that we're awful parents.'

'He doesn't think that,' Kousei said from inside, gesturing them to come inside.

Takuya was surprised to find the bed empty.

'Shouldn't Koichi be here?'

Koji was surprised too.

Kousei shook his head tiredly. 'The Doctor chose to talk to us now because Koichi wasn't here, although he hadn't told anyone where he was going.'

'We know he's still in the hospital at least,' Tomoko pointed out, sadness still in her tone. 'The alarm hasn't gone off yet.'

Kousei just shook his head. 'We'd better get back to the explanation before they think –'

'Hang on,' Koji broke in. 'The Doctor called you two –'

'No,' his father interrupted. 'He said that Koichi –'

'_Koichi _said –'

'Koji, would you stop interrupting me!'

Takuya didn't have to try to hold in the snickers; it was just a reflection of the gravity of the situation.

Koji also did not argue, instead sitting on the bed as his mother sat beside him and Takuya took the remaining chair. Actually, he sat on the arm but no-one noted it.

'What Tomoko was talking about was actually a side-effect of the postictal sleep,' Kousei continued tiredly. 'Maybe mixed in with the fever. He was looking for us…and couldn't see us. What he said after that sounded as if he'd flashed back to the night of the fire, when he woke on the gurney and then the hospital when we weren't in sight.'

Takuya was starting to feel a little uncomfortable and he quickly stood. 'I think I'll go look for Koichi.' He bowed quickly. 'Thank you Mrs Minamoto, Mr Minamoto – ' He waved at Koji and quickly vanished out the door.

Koji fidgeted slightly in his place. 'Do you think –' he asked, almost tentatively. 'That Koichi sometimes felt we weren't around when he needed us?'

'By "we" do you mean you?' Kousei asked.

Koji's head shot up of its own accord.

'It's written all over your face honey,' Tomoko said quietly. 'But the truth is that all of us, and that includes Koichi, are to blame. Maybe even the classmates the two of you have had – look at that young Kanbara for instance. If you'd have had a friend like him from the start you would have been far more cheerful, mischievous and a little less cold and quiet.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right.' She probably was, although that didn't sound like a particularly good thing.

'Good. No go talk to your brother before you explode.' She pushed him lightly off the bed.

As Koji was leaving, he caught his father asking his mother something, and a bit of her reply.

'I found a picture –'

He closed the door, shutting his parents' voices out. Somehow, they were quietly melting. Something he couldn't understand. Maybe, once he was a parent – or even when he fell in love –

He set off down the corridor again.

* * *

><p>He was surprised to find Koichi on the roof; it was a very un-Koichi like thing to do. Just like climbing trees were, and making sneaky plans that worked. And apparently racing Takuya.<p>

Of all of them, the last was probably the most shocking. Koji hadn't guessed his brother had a competitive streak. Or could run fast, considering he normally wound up missing sport in case he got too dizzy and therefore hypersensitive to light.

Koichi was leaning on the protection rail – or what was supposed to be a protection rail. It wasn't like the one on the roof of the school building, where their arms only fit up till the wrist. Someone their age could crawl through the bars quite easily, and somebody agile enough to jump over a metre could clear the top with no problem.

Koji was relieved that his brother hadn't gotten any ideas from that. Considering he was an eagle, the possibility that clear the top wasn't far-fetched in the least, and even if he couldn't the horizontal bars were spaced evenly and enough for most people to be able to climb. He supposed it was only their for wheelchairs and walking sticks; after all, it was a place where _sick_ people were, so likely no-body expected teens to be sneaking about the place.

'Hi,' he said quietly, and a tad awkwardly. Part of him wanted to cross his fingers for luck – but he wasn't that far gone.

Koichi ignored him, although he did move away from the rails a little.

'Right.' An idea suddenly sprung into mind, and Koji had to think he had been spending too much time with Takuya after all. Or maybe he was blaming the other without a cause, because would even Takuya come up with a hair-brained scheme like this?

And to think, it all relied on the fact that Koji knew the roof better than his brother. And for longer.

'Well, if you really want me to leave and vanish from your life –' He easily jumped over the railings.

Koichi's expression quickly changed to shock, but Koji was thereafter forced to curse his fringe for obscuring his vision because he missed what happened next. However, as expected he felt solid ground under his feet and to his relief there was also a vice grip around his wrist.

Although he did feel slightly guilty about tricking his brother. And he was also slightly concerned about the circulation below the wrist…or above in this case. 'Uhh…Koichi…? Do you realise there's a lower roof here?

'You mean – you –' Koichi spluttered, going a little red in the face and abruptly letting go. Even if Koji had fallen, which he hadn't, he would have simply landed flat on his back as the lower roof was spread below on a horizontal plane.

There was a huff and then Koichi's face vanished from view.

'Koichi?'

There was a choking sound as an answer, and Koji decided it was probably better for the both of them if they couldn't see each other. Koichi was still up on the upper roof, so he was going to have to deal with the lower one.

'You know, if you don't like the idea of doctors cutting your head, you can always borrow my lasers.' A pause. 'Or you have two perfectly good swords yourself.'

Another choking sound, although this one sounded a little like laughter as well. 'You're – you –'

'I can't believe I just said that,' Koji muttered. 'I swear Takuya would say that.'

There was a laugh disguised as a sob…or the other way around.

'Koichi?' he asked, worried.

There was silence for a moment, and Koji was sure the other wasn't going to answer…but he did. Finally.

'Why – why couldn't you leave well enough alone?'

'Because you might have been okay about the idea of just dying, but I wasn't,' was the simple reply. 'And if Mum and Dad found out – and be glad I gave them the watered version – you'd be grounded for the rest of your life and probably a part of some other reincarnation as well.' Koji didn't even realise his voice had risen until it dropped again. 'And I know we weren't as close after that fire and all, 'cause I was feeling guilty for running out and forgetting – ' He scuffed his toe along the roofing tiles. 'But Dad wanted to go in, you know?'

Silence, but Koji could swear he could hear his brother breathing and knew the other was listening.

'And you know Mum and Dad are hardly ever home because they're working hard for us.' He had finally gotten an answer to that as well. _Them_. Not just Koichi; their parents made sure both of them had their needs fulfilled. And he'd never even realised how expensive his sporting activities could get. And to think both of them had been jealous of each other's situation to an extent, resentful for things they shouldn't have been – but it was something neither of them needed to admit. They both knew it.

'And we were all being idiots since we just couldn't talk.' There. He'd said it. 'And that's the main problem. Because then maybe I would have realised sooner. Maybe we'd have grown up a little slower, and enjoyed things more. Maybe we could have made things easier on Mum and Dad, and maybe they could have said things too instead of giving us more space than we really should have had. But I guess they wanted us to work things out on our own, even if everyone was involved and everyone was to blame…' His voice trailed off.

'You sound like an adult,' Koichi mumbled unexpectedly.

'I think that was Mum,' Koji returned. 'She said something similar.' A pause. 'And the Digital World helped too. It was like a slap in the face, but beneath all that fighting and world saving there were more important things. Places we'd never seen. Things we'd never have otherwise learnt. And friends – ' He broke off at a choked cry. 'Koichi?'

Just the sound of muffled crying. Koji stood on his tiptoes and reached for the metal bars, jumping as soon as he was sure and swinging himself through the easiest gap. As expected, Koichi had chosen one of the roof's pillars to seek refuge behind, and Koji went quietly over and knelt down. Koichi's head was on his knees, and his body was shaking slightly.

'What is this about?' he asked softly.

Koichi just shook his head in tears, but when the other repeated the question he responded. 'Breezy village – the Floramon –'

'You scanned their data, didn't you.'

The elder twin, the warrior of darkness, didn't need to answer that. It was obvious.

'And you were closer to them than any of us too,' Koji said quietly. 'Why?' He could guess, but he wanted the answer from his brother.

And it seemed Koichi was a little more forthcoming with them as well as he obligingly spoke. 'They asked me to,' he said thickly. 'The Elder – most of the adults – knew the land was degrading and would only restore to its full potential with Lucemon's defeat. They knew – replacing the code otherwise – it was like putting sticky tape over and over – '

The rest of them hadn't known that. Even if they could have seen, with the way things struggled to grow. With the condition of the Trailmon tracks. Hell, if Takuya and Koji had compared their arrivals earlier they would have realised. Takuya replacing the tracks almost caused the Trailmon the twins rode to derail.

'Sticky tape?'

'It doesn't work,' Koichi's muffled voice cried. 'It's like taking pills and needles and still –'

'You understood,' Koji said when the other failed to go on. 'You understood the condition of the Digital World better than us, because you felt you were in the same condition. And it was the death of the Digital World that saved it, taking its data and somehow keeping it from Lucemon.' He hugged his brother; the other didn't resist. 'But people are different,' he whispered into the other's ear. 'If you die, who's going to bring you back to life? If you break, who's going to fix you? I don't want a broken or dead brother Koichi. I might be selfish; maybe this isn't what you want. I don't know. And I think you don't know either. But think things through. The Digital World came back to life. You missed it; it was beautiful. Better than we'd ever seen it. It was a risk; we might not have defeated Lucemon, but we did.'

Koichi breathed deeply, then sniffed. 'I get you,' he said quietly. 'But the Digital World had everyone fighting for it, even if the paths were different. If they hadn't, Lucemon would have realised what Cherubimon had started, what I was doing…'

'So we were decoys?' Koji asked, a little amused now that it was all over. 'Glad to know, but we can be your decoys here as well you know. We might not be there in person; I doubt even Mum or Dad would be allowed in the operating theatre, but we'll all be thinking of you all the same. And no doubt JP'll have a blast explaining your homework to you and I'll have a blast watching you be the tutee for a change. And Tommy's brother is probably going to want to know you better too; he gave Tommy the wrong book to return to you so he must plan to see you at least once…or twice.'

'He's smart,' Koichi mumbled.

'And Tommy inherited that; you wouldn't believe the ideas that kid comes up with.' Koji shook his head. 'He's the one who thought you might have been playing a double-crosser and he's the one who figured out your stunt in the end. Not to mention he plays games better than any kid I've seen.'

'They're good friends.'

'They're the best,' Koji agreed. 'And they want to be your friends too, and it's not really your right to deny them that. It wouldn't be fair to them. And it wouldn't be fair to you either, because you can't honestly tell me you're happy like this. And I know you don't want – no, can't – go on like this either. How can you stay in your room so long?'

'I can't,' Koichi admitted, finally lifting his head, the afternoon sun reflecting off the drops of tears that hovered around his lashes and smeared his face. 'It's suffocating. And the dark – it's comforting, but at the same time – ' He shivered a little in the other's embrace. 'It's – I don't know – cold I guess. Emotionless. Like a black hole that sucks out pain and emotion and…everything.'

'Happiness too?' Koji asked.

Koichi considered. 'Yeah, happiness too.'

A pause. 'What about your spirits then?'

'The same. But they weren't the real thing.' His arms curled around his knees. 'The true warriors of darkness –'

'Lowemon and JagerLowemon.'

'I never knew their names.' Koichi looked at a spot between his knees. 'Only at the very end – they were warm, and I felt like crying – except it was already too late to cry –'

'It's not too late to cry.' Koji rested his chin on top of the other's hair.

'Why?'

'I think I might have cried when you beat me,' Koji confessed. 'But no telling anyone else, 'kay?'

''kay.' A pause. 'Only if you promise me something.'

'It better not be your will or anything,' Koji frowned. And he'd hoped the roundabout way would work too, and it had been going _so_ well…

'It's not that, but…' Koichi paused, then sniffed again. 'Please don't vanish in front of me again.'

'Only if you promise not to do the same thing.'

And Koji left the hospital that night thinking about the conversation they had had. Thinking about all the things he'd never known, not even imagined. The things right in front of his face that he hadn't realised, the similarities between an internal world and the world outside. And beyond that, bonds that had been drawn between things.

Koichi too had a lot to think about once he was back in bed and properly scolded. He almost broke down and cried again when his mother embraced him, then gave it up and sobbed into her shirt like a baby as she stroked his hair. For some reason, the doctor seemed quite pleased with his reaction, and even lightly commented if his brother would be needing an ear or a punching bag. Perhaps the former, but his mother said Takuya was around, and Tommy too, and they would be the perfect ears.

And he thought about little Flora, sweet and innocent and failing to understand but knowing things would end soon and knowing she had to be happy while she could. Unlike him, who had thrown it away instead, even when his time had been prolonged and he could have done so much more. But for a long time, well before the Digital World, he had locked himself away from his reality with books and stories and art. Compared to that, the earth beneath his fingers had been a strange thing. But planting those flowers had been satisfying, even if they hadn't grown as they should. And it had been fun. Little Flora dancing around with her little can, being on occasion more of a hindrance than a help but a bright spot of sunshine all the same.

There was plenty of space in the backyard. Maybe he could grow a garden. He could even put gnomes in it – except the gnomes would be the Floramon, and even the Mushroomon. Maybe even the ten warriors, and Cherubimon and Ophanimon and Seraphimon; Seraphimon would be difficult. He'd only seen him once, and not particularly closely. And Bokomon and Neemon too, except he hadn't focused much on them either.

Maybe Koji was right; he hadn't thought of it that way before. Maybe it wasn't so frightening after all. Or so impossible. Maybe it was just the same risk.

And maybe – no, definitely – he didn't have to do it alone. Although he almost reconsidered when he found out he had to be _awake_ for the entire thing. But his parents were there. Koji was there. His friends were there too, even if they hung back a little awkwardly since the ice was still coating things. But their presence made everything warmer…although the Doctor wasn't entirely pleased as all the excitement meant his fever was still strong.

But no more illusions. Of any kind.


	26. Epilogue

Author's Notes

And that's it. I spent so much time on this that it feels rather sad. Except the rest of my WIPs are glaring at me. :)

* * *

><p><span>Mirror Distortions<span>

AU. What if the twins' parents never divorced? What if being pushed together was the very rift that divided them? What if envy was spurned from societal influence-and the gate opened amidst?

Kouichi K & Kouji M

* * *

><p><span>Epilogue<span>

JP knocked on the door of the Minamoto's home on a Saturday afternoon after a half day's school. His bag was slung over one shoulder and the other was carrying a mince pie made by his mother (with his assistance of course). Koji, Tommy and Takuya were at the arcade – or detouring to the arcade would perhaps be a more accurate description. Zoe was beside him, carrying the dessert.

A brown haired woman opened the door.

'Are you friends of one of the boys?' she asked. Her voice was low and warm, the kind of motherly tone that came most often by those who had either a lot of children or none at all.

'Yes we are, ma'am,' Zoe said, stepping forward. 'We're here to visit Koichi though.'

The woman smiled and let them in. 'I'm sure Koichi is glad for that; books are no substitute for the real thing after all, and he has been wishing to go to the Gardens.'

She accepted the parcel Zoe offered, and JP trailed behind her as she headed for the kitchen and two more parcels that sat there.

'One would think they're having a birthday party.' The woman smiled fondly at the parcels. 'But you're all celebrating something far more important.'

'We're…not celebrating anything ma'am.' JP felt rather awkward in front of the woman; she gave off the air of knowledge and awareness.

'It's Satomi,' the brunette said. 'And nothing is the best thing to celebrate.'

The warriors of wind and thunder looked at each other, but Satomi was leaving again and they hastened to follow.

'You know where Koichi's room is,' she said. 'Go right ahead and knock.' She suddenly gave them both a stern look. 'No jumping out from behind the banister and surprising him.

'Yes ma'am,' the pair chorused before hurrying upstairs.

In the end, they made enough noise that Koichi would have had to be sleeping to miss them. As it was, he met them at the door, bandage finally off his head and proudly displaying stitches…except he'd crammed a head over them.

Zoe couldn't help but giggle at the hat. JP too was amused. 'You want to get in trouble on your first day at school.'

'Don't remind me,' Koichi groaned. 'It's only thanks to you I might avoid failing the semester.'

JP just shook his head. With the amount of effort he had to put into going over lessons with the other, he thought it would be more of a surprise if the elder Minamoto didn't wind up with As across the board. Even without receiving the information straight from the teachers he had been read enough to be able to grasp the new concepts with two explanations and a few worked out questions at the most. JP would consider himself most surprised if the other didn't wind up going to To-oh University at the end of senior high school.

And now there was little question about making it through junior.

'You know something,' JP remembered suddenly. 'Katsuharu was asking where you were'

'He was?' Koichi let go of the rim of his hat, which he had been fiddling with at the mention of school.

'Although he did ask whether you'd still hang upside down like a vampire or if your intestines would spew out.'

All three of them laughed at that, even if Zoe made a face at the mental image.

'Whatever brought the intestines into the topic?'

JP shrugged. 'No idea, and I don't really care either. Sho on the other hand seemed honestly curious as to whether or not you'd be back soon.'

'Not soon,' Zoe grinned. 'After all, the Gardens are waiting for us for today, and you too still need to teach me enough chess to beat Takuya.' Much to her chagrin, the brunet wasn't a bad chess player in the least. And it didn't help that she was a complete novice.

JP quickly launched into an explanation and Koichi let his mind wander off.

All of them had become closer; they hadn't talked much before the operation but they'd had a world of time afterwards, with him bedridden for what felt like an age. School had still pressed on, but he'd been granted leave and as long as he passed his exams he would join the following semester with all his regular classmates. To his surprise, JP hadn't been the only classmate to visit him, and to his greater surprise the ice that had split them all apart had somehow melted away. Because it wasn't Koichi and Koji's friends – although it was, in a sense, and there would be no avoiding that. But they had all been tied with the Digital World, and while he had tied himself as an outsider he had also done so as a part of a team. Takuya claimed you needed to use a microscope sometimes and ignore the seemingly bigger picture; they'd bumped into each other quite often after all, and in the end their paths had converged.

That was the important thing after all, because if he hadn't followed his path, Lucemon would have not lost his advantage. And if the others hadn't followed their own, they would not have been prepared for a Demon Lord's wrath, no matter how diluted.

But they'd followed those paths and came to the same end, and then done the same again with a different war. And Koichi knew it wasn't perfect; he knew the Digital World would not be perfect either. But it was alive. He was alive. And that was all that really mattered.

And they had had a months of time to make that come alive.

'So –' Koichi wrenched himself out of his thoughts – thankfully without a wince – at JP's change of topic. 'Should we take some of your pudding with us?'

'No way!' Zoe cried, before adding something in Italian.

JP looked confused, but Koichi grinned.

'Don't tell me you know what that means.'

'It means "that's for later",' the warrior of darkness responded.

'Sure does.' Zoe wagged a finger. 'So no touching now, capish?' Then she turned to Koichi. 'And that includes you; one of your ears must have been listening.'

'You guys are going to wear all that out before I'm back at school,' the elder twin noted.

JP shrugged. 'Think about how much less of a bother it'll be.'

Because laughing about it now was better, far better, then being thrown into a sea of drowning voices. Others could say what they wanted; it would matter less with his family and his friends around him.

Although he might have briefly reconsidered that when Koji, Takuya and Tommy give him a fright by popping out from behind the couch – after Satomi explicitly told them not to. But she was grinning as well, and Koichi's head _was_ healing up quite nicely…

Still…

'What are you thinking about?' Tommy asked curiously.

'A lot of things,' Koichi said quietly. 'Like I was being silly when I didn't want to be close to anyone…' He drew his legs to his chest. 'And how everything feels…different now.'

'But that's good,' the warrior of ice pointed out. After all, they'd had the conversation before.

'It still takes getting used –' Koichi broke off and ducked under the pudding that came flying towards him. 'Good thing Koji's on cleaning detail.'

'Not fair,' the other grumbled. 'And what detail are you on?'

'Saving everything that's left and doing the dishes,' the elder twin innocently replied. It was after all the easier job, but they had drawn lots after the cat was out and Koji had unfortunately wound up with the short stick.

'By the way,' Tommy interrupted suddenly. 'Yutaka was asking if you had an answer for him.'

Koichi shook his head a little at that. 'Working on it.'

'I think that was the answer he was looking for.'

The rest looked blankly at them. Koichi just shrugged; he wasn't eager to share that quite yet.

'I can't believe it's been almost too months…' Zoe sighed.

'Believe it,' Koji said. 'We've got exams next week.'

They all groaned.

'At least you get extra time for your exams,' the younger twin pointed out to his elder sibling.

'That's no good if I don't know the answers though.'

'And what prey tell are you lacking in?'

'Physics mostly.'

'Great!' The twins jumped a little at JP's exclamation. 'I'm the best at physics.'

Koji gave the warrior of thunder a sidelong glance. 'I think Koichi was being sarcastic.'

'Was not,' the elder twin retorted. 'I really am stuck with the latest work.'

'Leave it to me.' JP patted his chest. 'I'll have it into your head in no time.'


End file.
